The holiday season is right around the corner and many stores have already begun to advertise Christmastime with fancy displays, shiny lights, and extravagant ornaments. But have you ever stopped to think how a less-fortunate family deals with this over-glamorized and retail-oriented holiday? Families who may have lost their homes in a fire, or were displaced by a natural disaster may not have the funds necessary to provide their family with gifts.

The Christmas Store, located in Montgomery County, has been helping families like these create holiday memories. This nonprofit, all-volunteer organization assists low-income families in the Montgomery County area—giving priority to those with children—by providing them with a shopping experience that fits their needs during the Christmas season.

The Christmas Store is always looking for more volunteers to help make the Christmas magic possible. Molly McClintock, a volunteer who became involved with the Christmas Store five years ago after responding to a newspaper ad, said that it takes about 900 volunteers to make the process work each year.

The volunteers help in various ways, some by donating items to be placed in the store, others by assisting shoppers, cleaning, decorating, loading cars, baby-sitting and fundraising. Last year, in 2006, the Christmas Store served 1,264 families, which included 3,625 individuals. It is evident why it is important to have as many volunteers as possible.

McClintock began by volunteering on the Eligibility Committee. She now serves on the Board of Directors for the Christmas Store and is involved in meetings and planning year-round, donating approximately 100 hours of her time per year.

The Eligibility Committee is responsible for recruiting, screening, and scheduling shoppers. The Christmas Store is able to find potential families by sending letters to food stamp recipients and through the local school systems. In the letters they encourage these families to apply. In addition to sending letters out, volunteers also visit nursing homes to find low-income seniors who might benefit from the program. After a family has applied, an interview determines their eligibility, and then they are scheduled for their shopping appointment.

“We have three criteria for shoppers,” McClintock said. “They must live in Montgomery County, meet our income guidelines (125% of the poverty level), and have a qualifying family member; that is, they have a child, a senior, or a disabled adult in their household.”

Once it is time to begin the shopping, the family comes to the store where they are checked in, and then they are matched up with a volunteer who assists them with their shopping.

This year, the chosen families will be able to shop on Dec. 4-8 and the Christmas Store has a fundraising goal of $153,000 for 2007.

McClintock said she has amazing memories from her past five years with the organization. In 2005 she assisted with many families who were refugees of Hurricane Katrina. She worked with another family who was the victim of a house fire where they lost everything. Many of the families the Christmas Store works with are “second-generation families” who have been helped by the organization in the past. McClintock said that “their poverty is eye-opening every time.” The Christmas Store reaches out to a range of people, including seniors who survive on a $600 monthly Social Security check and families with two or three disabled children.

“It is difficult but important to realize these are members of our own community,” McClintock said. “They live so differently from us. Their poverty is grinding. They have no health insurance, inadequate housing, plumbing, heating; they have limited access to transportation; they have little or no education and limited job skills.”

If you wish to volunteer or simply donate to the Christmas Store you can visit their Web site at www.mcchristmasstore.org.

Although the Christmas Store can’t fix the many problems we see as a society, they brighten the holiday season for many families in need.

As McClintock said, “The solutions are complex and well beyond the reach of the Christmas Store. All we do is help make sure they have a few new things and some special food for the holidays.”

Katelyn L. Sherwood grew up in King George, Va. She is now a senior at Radford University studying journalism.