Spreading Christmas cheer | News, Sports, Jobs

Zach Clark and his sister Cora Clark pose in December 2022 among the toys and gifts ready to be handed out to families at the High Peaks Resort for the North Elba Community Christmas Fund. Families picked up their gifts over three days, and 130 children benefited last year from the donations, many of which were collected from businesses around the village. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — For about 50 years, the North Elba Community Christmas Fund has helped local families put presents under their Christmas trees, winter coats on their kids and food on their tables.

The process of spreading Christmas cheer starts well before the holiday season. By the week before Thanksgiving, the fund’s volunteers are already hard at work organizing the annual community gift drive and Christmas meal boxes.

“We’re off and running,” co-organizer Zach Clark said. “We’ve sent the letters home to the families that we assist. They sent them back with the information we need, then our elves and volunteers do shopping for their gifts, and those are arriving daily.”

Clark and his sister, Cora, have been the organizers of the Christmas Fund since 2019 — roles they took on to take care of their friends and neighbors.

“Five years ago now, the people who volunteered and ran the program decided they did not want to do it anymore,” Zach said. “They’d done their time and they did a great job, so my sister Cora heard about it, where they were going to give it to the United Way and have them do it. But she said that did not sit well with her, just because they don’t know the local area like we know them … so we said we would do it.”

Volunteers help with the holiday meal boxes during a past North Elba Community Christmas Fund drive in Lake Placid. (Provided photo)

The Clarks, who were born and raised in Lake Placid, run the Christmas Fund in their spare time with the help of a small army of volunteers. The volunteers purchase gifts for the fund’s “store,” which is in a donated ballroom at the High Peaks Resort. On Monday, Dec. 11, the volunteers spend the entire day setting the “store” up, and then on Dec. 12 to 14, families each get about 20 minutes of alone time to do their “shopping” to keep it private. The volunteers also help set up the fund’s “elfing trees” across town. These are Christmas trees decorated with tags describing a local child’s age and interests. People around town who want to help out can take one of these tags and buy a gift for that child. There are trees at both the Palace Theatre on Main Street and the Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center on Old Military Road.

The volunteers also pack food boxes with all of the fixings for a traditional Christmas dinner. This year, they will gather at the Crowne Plaza on Friday, Dec. 15 to pack boxes with turkey, stuffing and trimmings. Volunteer drivers then take the boxes on Saturday, Dec. 16 and deliver them across the community to families in need — sometimes making five back-and-forth trips to the Crowne Plaza, according to Zach.

“It takes a whole community, and that’s the big part,” Zach said. “Each year, we see more and more thank-you cards that get mailed to our mailbox. People are so grateful for the people that volunteer their time, that send in money, that just make it happen. There’s a lot of hard-working people in town, and sometimes you just can’t make ends meet.”

Though the fund typically only buys toys for children 13 years old and younger, in recent years they have begun to purchase gifts for teenagers, too. Clark said that, with the help of local teachers and The Bookstore Plus, they have started requesting that people buy books for teenagers, as well as gift cards to local businesses.

Shopping local is at the heart of the Christmas Fund’s philosophy.

Volunteers help with the holiday meal boxes during a past North Elba Community Christmas Fund drive in Lake Placid. (Provided photo)

“Definitely shop local,” Zach said. “We shop local as best as we can.”

Twelve local businesses are also serving as drop-off locations for gifts this year. Anybody who wants to purchase a toy to donate to the fund can drop it off at any of the following businesses in Lake Placid: Great Adirondack Brewing Company (formerly Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood), the NBT banks on Saranac Avenue and Main Street, Kinney Drugs, Walgreens, Champlain Bank, Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, the UPS Store, The Smoking Cork, the Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center and Up North Nutrition.

People who want to donate money to the Christmas Fund can send checks or cash to the North Elba Town Hall at 2693 Main St. in Lake Placid, addressed to the North Elba Community Christmas Fund. Those who wish to donate their time can contact Zach by email at emmadelyn6@yahoo.com.

“Every dollar counts,” Zach said. “Here we are, ready for another long, cold winter, and we need the community’s help again.”

The North Elba Community Christmas Fund keeps a running list of families in need; however, people in need of the Christmas Fund’s assistance can contact Zach to be added to the list for next year.