{"id":2816,"date":"2024-12-30T16:02:16","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T16:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/?p=2816"},"modified":"2024-12-31T23:00:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T23:00:51","slug":"cores-christmas-blessing-store-five-years-of-community-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/2024\/12\/30\/cores-christmas-blessing-store-five-years-of-community-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"CORE\u2019s Christmas Blessing Store: Five Years Of Community Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n





CORE\u2019s Christmas Blessing Store: Five Years Of Community Impact<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the Christmas Blessing Store<\/em>\u2014a partnership between CORE and the Hollister School District\u2014has transformed holiday seasons for local families. For half a decade, this event has made an incredible difference in the lives of those it serves.  CORE’s CEO, Cary McKee, expressed heartfelt gratitude for the partnership: “CORE is honored and blessed to partner with the Hollister School District for this year’s Christmas Blessing Store. It truly is a gift for us to take what we’ve been given and share it with the community<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Before the Covid 19 pandemic, CORE had agreements with local retailers to receive generous product donations. The abundance and breadth of donations quickly inspired a mission to provide for persons in need within the local area.\u00a0 This purpose well aligns with CORE\u2019s recovery program, which fosters civic-minded service among our clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although our clients were eager to help, the pandemic presented a significant challenge: social distancing ordinances prevented public events, leaving CORE with no way to distribute donations. Cary, however, found a creative solution by partnering with Dr. Brian Wilson, Superintendent of the Hollister School District. Together, they created the Christmas Blessing Store, which provides a shopping experience\u2014free of charge\u2014for families in need. This year\u2019s event saw 275 children, representing over 20% of Hollister\u2019s student population, along with their families, receive gifts and household necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Effort of Many Hands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Planning for the 2024 Christmas Blessing Store began immediately after last year\u2019s event. Weekly pickups from local retailers, coordinated by CORE operations manager Gary Osborn, ensured a steady stream of donated goods. These donations were sorted, tested, and stored by our clients at CORE\u2019s Branson warehouse. As the event date approached, our client volunteers worked tirelessly to prepare, often becoming emotionally invested in the knowledge that their efforts would directly benefit families in need.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tamara Spencer, who led much of our client organizing efforts, described the experience as a deeply personal honor: \u201cKnowing that the items we sorted would be offered to families who don\u2019t necessarily have the money for Christmas was huge. It\u2019s like being Santa Claus, and that\u2019s cool<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inventory included bicycles, toys, clothing, shoes, electronics, home d\u00e9cor, Christmas decorations, and much more\u2014essentially a mini big-box store. In early December, CORE\u2019s trucks delivered the items to Hollister\u2019s Tiger Pod, where CORE volunteers, school counselors, and student groups transformed the space into a welcoming store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Community Effort<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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The event\u2019s success was made possible by a dedicated network of volunteers. Sandy Brown, a retired school counselor, returned to coordinate this year\u2019s operations. She praised the contributions of CORE, our clients, school counselors, the National Honor Society, the Civil Air Patrol student group, Tiger Academy, Girl Scouts, and local churches. Whether setting up tables, organizing health and beauty items, or repairing bicycles, these groups ensured a seamless experience for participating families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Wilson emphasized the event\u2019s alignment with the school district\u2019s mission: \u201cKids don\u2019t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This event shows our students and their families that we\u2019re here for them, creating partnerships that support both their immediate needs and their education<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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A Blessing for All<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For volunteers, the event exemplified the spirit of giving. Dr. Wilson remarked on the profound impact the event has on everyone involved: \u201cIt truly is a blessing for everybody. Seeing our community come together to make a difference resonates deeply with everyone, whether they\u2019re giving or receiving<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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This year\u2019s Christmas Blessing Store provided families with more than gifts under the tree; it offered hope, dignity, and a renewed sense of community. From CORE\u2019s clients to Hollister\u2019s educators and student volunteers, the effort underscored the transformative power of giving\u2014a testament to the store\u2019s fitting name. As Sandy Brown put it: \u201cThis has always been a passion of mine. If I can help one student and their family have a better Christmas, it\u2019s worth it<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Cary said that CORE remains committed to continuing this vital tradition of giving and community support.<\/p>\n\n\n

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CORE\u2019s Christmas Blessing Store: Five Years Of Community Impact Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the Christmas Blessing Store\u2014a partnership between CORE and the Hollister School District\u2014has transformed holiday seasons for local families. For half a decade, this event has made an incredible difference in the lives of those it serves.  CORE’s CEO, Cary McKee, expressed heartfelt…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2816"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2856,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2816\/revisions\/2856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}