'Kids shop' helps with spirit of giving

Christmas is right around the corner, which means that for the next nine or ten days, people all over the county, and all around the world for that matter, will be running around frantically trying to finish up their shopping.

There’s that fishing pole you want to get your nephew, a pair of earrings for your significant other and that cookbook your mother mentioned over Thanksgiving.

For most of us, getting these things is as easy as running a few errands and spending a few dollars.

It’s not so easily done if you’re in fourth grade, however. Which is why Bonners Ferry local Joy Schmitz came up with the idea for “Kids Shop” this holiday season.

The event works like this: any child in the community between the ages of four and 15 can donate five items to the Ministerial Association’s Holiday Gift baskets in exchange for a ticket. They can then bring that ticket to the United Methodist Church on Dec. 17, where their parent/s or guardian/s will wait upstairs while they go downstairs and buy them a gift with the ticket.

Schmitz had 50 tickets made for this year’s “Kids Shop”, and as of Dec. 13, there were 18 tickets left. Children who want a ticket can get in touch with Schmitz in order to see the list of what donations are currently needed for the Holiday baskets. Five items would get them one ticket, 10 items would get them two, and so on.

The gifts are donated by local businesses, and according to Schmitz, E.T. Wireless will take care of whatever gifts haven’t been covered by Dec. 16.

Schmitz, who is currently organizing the community event with the help of her family, says she could really use some volunteers on Saturday to help with setting up and gift wrapping. Anyone interested in getting involved should stop by E.T. Wireless by 5 p.m. on Dec. 16.

Many locals are familiar with Schmitz’s other holiday project, the Christmas Tree of Joy, which is now in its third year. In order to make this project work, Schmitz gives forms to the Community Action Partnership (C.A.P.) for families who, for one reason or another, can’t afford Christmas gifts. Families in need fill out those forms, which are more or less wish lists for the children. The C.A.P. then returns these forms to Schmitz, who turns these forms into tags and puts the tags on the Christmas tree inside of E.T. Wireless.

For example, a tag might read, “12 year-old boy, wants a new basketball”. Someone in the community who is looking to spread a little Christmas cheer can come in and take this tag, and then return to the store with a wrapped basketball, so that Schmitz can coordinate getting that gift into the hands of the family who originally requested it.

Schmitz, who is thrilled with how the community has embraced the Tree of Joy project, says, “This year I wanted to take it one step further to allow children to be able to give something to their parents or guardian.” Like most of us, Schmitz knows that as nice as it is to receive a gift, the true joy of Christmas can only be experienced through giving.