Gift of the Drummer program is in full swing for Christmas

Friday, Oct. 24, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic Community Services’ Holiday Gift of the Drummer will serve about 1,250 children this year. The program will be divided into two programs: one for those children whose families are registered with the CCS Saint Vincent de Paul Basic Needs Services, the other for refugee children whose families are from other countries and also the unaccompanied minor refugee children in foster care. 

The Gift of the Drummer program provides for children from newborn to age 17 with clothing items such as shoes, socks, dresses, pants and coats, “whatever people can afford,” said Dennis Kelsch, CCS Basic Needs Services director.

Registration for these families will continue through October; gift recipients are all at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guideline level, and are not enrolled in another Christmas program, Kelsch said. 

Forty percent of the registration is done by volunteers. During the registration, CCS gathers particular information such as what colors the children like, their sizes, styles and what they would like to receive. “We want to make it more personal for the children,” Kelsch said. 

The information about the children is given to parishes, schools, private individuals and companies so appropriate gifts can be purchased. 

“We ask them to spend about $75, if they can, on each child,” said Kelsch. 

The unwrapped gifts must be delivered to CCS by the first week of December, said Kelsch. 

“We ask people not to wrap the gifts because we want the parents of the children to play a part in the gift giving,” he said. “We want them to see what the child will receive and have an opportunity to wrap the gift themselves.”

The gifts are distributed beginning about Dec. 18. CCS gives the parents wrapping paper when they pick up the gifts, he said.

CCS hopes more families will purchase Christmas items this year for the Gift of the Drummer program, said Danielle Stamos, CCS public relations and marketing coordinator. “We are expecting to serve about 250 or more refugee children this year; we have an influx of kids coming from refugee camps in the Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan, and we want to make sure we take care of all of them during Christmas. A lot of them are coming to Utah from warm climates and have never seen snow before; they come with only the clothes on their backs and they need warm coats, sweat shirts, sweaters, undergarments, warm shoes, hats, and gloves. These are practical as well as a fun Christmas gifts for the children.”

CCS also asks for educational toys for the refugee children, said Janet Healy, CCS volunteer coordinator. “The refugees are learning English and the American culture and educational toys advance their learning process,” she said. “We discourage board games.”

The refugee children’s gifts are wrapped by the University of Utah Lowell Bennion Service Center volunteers, said Stamos. “This is a Christmas event for our volunteers and the students have a fun time wrapping the gifts.”

Giving a gift to the refugee children is a way to welcome them to the United States, said Stamos. “Getting the presents as they arrive, especially after living in refugee camps, really means a lot to them, and coming from the community is like a welcoming for them,” she said. 

Judge Memorial and Juan Diego Catholic high schools are among the institutions that will participate in the Gift of the Drummer.

“Gift of the Drummer is a program that allows the students, faculty and staff of Judge Memorial to play a larger role among families who are in need to provide a joyful Christmas for their children,” said Luke Stager Judge Memorial campus minister.