The Lincoln County Family Holiday Wishes Program is hobbled by reduced donations and faced with a greatly increased need in the last week of their annual gift collection drive.
Program Director Cynthia Simonds explained she has received an astronomical amount of calls from needy families this year. At one point she took calls for 32 children over a 24 hour time period.
“More people have applied than ever before,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of people who’ve never had to ask for help before. Also businesses and individuals who have donated in the past haven’t been able to this year.”
The deadline for requesting help from the Family Holiday Wishes program was Dec. 10. The deadline for dropping off gifts was extended from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15 to allow people more time to donate, said Simonds. She said there are more than 500 wish tags that have not been filled.
According to Simmonds, wish tag trees and drop off boxes are available at Louis Doe Hardware, Damariscotta Hardware, Renys Underground, Maine Coast Book Shop, Salt Bay Café, Reunion Station, the Alna Store, Ames Supply, the Wiscasset Community Center, the Wiscasset Town Office, and the Lincoln County Courthouse.
She explained one of the beautiful things about the program is that everyone can spare a dollar for someone else. Some of the wish tags are only for a pair of socks, so the price of helping isn’t too high, said Simonds.
She said the number of calls received, and the amount of wish tags left concerns her. According to Simonds, hundreds of tags still haven’t been put out on the wish trees yet.
“An unbelievable amount of people have lost their jobs right now,” Simonds said. “We just want to keep people warm and fed, with a present or two for their kids on Christmas morning so they know Santa’s still around.”
