Christmas Volunteers Scramble to Leave No Stocking Unstuffed

By Larry Margolis’ calculation, it was the ninth day of Christmas.

That’s how long he and two assistants had been racing furiously around the Santa Clarita Valley, collecting toys, canned goods, packages of pinto beans and 10-pound bags of russet potatoes, then boxing them for distribution to 400 needy families.

By Tuesday, the 63-year-old silver-haired social worker was clearly exhausted. But there was to be one more day of stooping, packing, lifting, hauling and telephoning in search of a wayward truck containing 200 frozen turkeys for his sixth-annual Christmas giveaway.

“I’m a little muddled now. I’m not thinking at my best,” he apologized, pulling off his leather gloves and wiping his brow.

The truck finally arrived--two hours late, but in time to replenish Margolis’ turkey inventory, which had dwindled to a dangerously low level of 11.

“We were sweating bullets,” Margolis said as families began queuing up outside a Newhall warehouse that serves as his North Pole.

Such was the frenetic life of thousands of volunteers who spent the final days before Christmas scrambling to meet the needs of needy residents of the San Fernando Valley and neighboring communities.

‘It Wears Me Out’

“My wife told me, ‘This is it, old man. This is the last year,”’ said Margolis, although without much conviction. “It wears me out.”

For many of the volunteers, their own family’s needs are subordinated to those less fortunate.

“I don’t need Christmas. This is Christmas as far as I’m concerned,” said one volunteer at Manna, a year-round food bank in Thousand Oaks, as she helped needy families fill shopping carts full of groceries.

“Thursday will be anti-climactic. I’ll just have to cook all day.”

What seems an almost impossible task--opening your doors Christmas week and supplying food and toys to a steady stream of underprivileged families--has developed into a science for dozens of groups in the Valley area.

Few reported having to turn people away when shelves went bare; most said they were able to predict demand accurately based on the number of people they served last year.

“We won’t run out, there’s no way,” said a laughing Sue Growe of Manna, as volunteers continued to file in Tuesday carrying box loads of food and toys collected at businesses, schools and churches throughout the Conejo Valley.

“We’ve had an absolutely wonderful outpouring from the community.”

None Empty-Handed

Volunteer Marcia Givvin of Fish, an ecumenical group that operates a year-round food bank in Chatsworth, said none of the 150 families who sought help there this week went away empty-handed. Each received a large food basket, or a gift certificate to a supermarket, and toys for their children.

“We ask people at various churches to bring in hens and turkeys, and, just miraculously, they appear,” Givvin said. “We always seem to have enough.

“I’m in awe of the whole thing. It took me several years to really have the faith to believe that it was always going to balance out.”

Some groups, however, did exhaust their supplies while needy families remained in line.

At the Lutheran Social Services Center in Van Nuys, a sign saying, “Sorry, We’re Closed,” was posted at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, 30 minutes before the charity’s scheduled closing time.

“I am sorry, but we are running low on food,” program director Barry Smedberg announced to the families in line. “We will do our very best to accommodate everyone. So please bear with us.”

Nine volunteers continued working feverishly to distribute what little remained. But, in the end, 60 people walked away disappointed.

‘Extremely Difficult’

“It was extremely difficult to turn our clients away,” said Smedberg, whose workers distributed food and toys to about 850 people during the past two weeks, an unexpected increase of 25% over last year.

The Lutheran center had run out of supplies the previous day, too, but a series of last-minute cash donations enabled volunteers to dash to the supermarket, restock and reopen on Tuesday.

Some clients left the food banks with their arms full, but their hearts heavy.

One young woman with shoulder-length blond hair made it through the line at the Lutheran center in Van Nuys shortly before supplies ran out.

“I find it hard to believe this is my second year at the center,” said Kathy, an abandoned wife and mother of three.

After receiving her groceries and two bags full of wrapped toys, Kathy turned to leave but was stopped by a volunteer who reminded her that a small hen donated by a church member remained in the freezer. Kathy began to cry.

“Oh, thank you so very much,” she said.

Such poignant moments are the only reward volunteers need, they say.

“We want people to know that this is a place where the community has said, ‘We love you and you’ll get through this,’ ” said Sue Growe of Manna.

1,000 Families Served

Several hundred volunteers reported for duty over the holidays at MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity) in Pacoima to help pack and distribute food baskets to 1,000 families in the Northeast Valley.

“Sometimes we had more volunteers than we could utilize efficiently,” said Joan Gartlan, the group’s vice president. “But so many want to help and take part.”

One of the best-organized charity groups in the Valley, MEND began taking applications for Christmas baskets in September and had delivered the food and toys to all the families by Sunday, enabling its volunteers to focus on their own families this week.

Other organizations, including that of Larry Margolis, were still at work Christmas Eve.

“We’ll be here until the last person comes in,” said Margolis, who has operated a charity program in Newhall for six years.

“I’ll get my wife a present after Christmas. There’s just no time.”