Press Christmas for All making lifetime impacts

It's no easy task to gift wrap a washing machine or a set of brand new snow tires.

It's even more difficult to wash clothes for eight kids without a washing machine, or get to work on a snowy North Idaho day without proper treads.

Those who received gifts through the 34th annual Press Christmas for All holiday giving program didn't just get a few extra bucks for their shopping lists.

They were given gifts that will last long after the last Christmas lights have gone out for the season.

"The recipients of this year's program not only were vetted by Charity Reimagined and their partners, but truly showed a need that was outside of Christmas and the holiday," Press publisher Clint Schroeder said Friday. "By helping to eliminate that need, they were able to provide Christmas for their family. There's a sense of pride that comes with that."

Charity Reimagined is a local nonprofit that helps other nonprofits be more effective in their missions of helping those in need. Its vision is to maximize the efficiency of charitable organizations in Kootenai County through education and resources, helping secular and faith-based entities promote individual responsibility and strengthen the capabilities of those being served.

Press Christmas for All partnered with Charity Reimagined and other local agencies to make this Christmas about more than just a few material items under the tree.

"Change is always difficult," Schroeder said. "But every dollar the community invests in a program like this one needs to be utilized in a way that's best not only for the recipient, but for the community in general. We're helping people build better lives, not just making sure one meal is taken care of."

This year's program was more about quality than quantity — though there was plenty of the latter, too, when the community came together to donate $182,000.

"If we can take a $400 purchase — snow tires, an HVAC fix, whatever — off their plate and these people are going to be able to provide Christmas for their family on their own, that instills a sense of pride that reinforces what they're doing, and that's the hand up," Schroeder said.

Charity Reimagined founder Maggie Lyons said this year's Christmas for All gifts didn't just make it a memorable Christmas — they changed people's lives.

"It was a magnificent journey on many levels for us as a community," she said, adding that some of the biggest needs included dental work, automotive work, eye glasses and home repairs.

Lyons and her Charity Reimagined colleagues, who include Leslie Orth of the Post Falls Food Bank and long-time Union Gospel Mission volunteer Jackie Maker, worked with referring agencies that recommended clients for this year's program. Applicants were vetted throughly, sometimes more than once.

"We knew for a fact that the monetary gift from the community was absolutely going to the most significant item in each one of these recipients' lives," Schroeder said. "The measure of this program this year was the specific impact for the people who may not need it next year."

Lyons said it was overwhelming to hear so many requests, but she felt privileged to speak to every person and share resources and messages of hope with people who had never really had that conversation before.

"These were impacts that last well beyond a year," Lyons said. "These are gifts that are really blessings."

She said she was grateful to Press Christmas for All for serving as a conduit and leading the way for how other nonprofits in our area can work alongside their people.

"Real needs were meaningfully met," she said. "I think we as a community are so much better because of what Christmas for All did this year."

Info: www.charityreimagined.org