GREENFIELD — The Landing Place is reaching out to the community ahead of its annual Christmas party for the teens who spend time within its walls.
In addition to providing an opportunity to worship along with a recovery program for the troubles teens face, for a second year, leaders of the organization aim to provide each young adult who attends a stocking with gift cards, candy, winter gear, like hats and gloves, as well as personal care items.
It’s the second year founder Linda Ostewig has stuffed some 65 stockings with everything from toothbrushes to Walmart gift cards, Ostewig said. She needs both donations and volunteers to fill the stockings for the youths at the Landing Place, age 13 to 19, she said.
Those who donate gift cards are asked to put no more than $25 on each card, which can be from restaurants or grocery stores. The Landing’s clients especially would like gift cards from Starbucks, Taco Bell and McDonald’s, Ostewig said.
The Landing has several churches and businesses helping to fill the 70 stockings it is preparing for Dec. 20, Ostewig said.
Wolf Law Firm, the law office of attorneys Sarah Wolf and Joseph Wooldridge, committed to filling at least 35 stockings and donated $200 in addition, Ostewig said.
Office manager Misty Morales heard about the Landing’s needs for the holiday season and brought it to the attorneys, who wanted to help, she said.
“We’re doing simple things like gift cards, hats, gloves and hygiene products, she said. “We all decided it would be a great thing to do; we’ve all taken a stocking ourselves and my family took four.”
Morales had a teenage family member grapple with addiction, so helping the Landing and the teens it serves is extremely meaningful for her, she said.
Brandywine Christian Church rallied several members to help collect items for the stockings, and St. Michael Catholic Church added tags to trees for its parishioners to select and fulfill for Landing kids, said church volunteer Linda Manley.
Parishioners picked from some 350 tags on trees, to help brighten the Christmases of clients from Mental Health Partners of Hancock County, Life Choices Care Center and the Hope House, Manley said. Church members have begun to bring presents back in and volunteers are planning to deliver them to the organizations in the coming weeks, she said.
Manley said it’s gratifying to arrange the gift-giving between church members and those in need in the community.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It makes me feel like I do something purposeful for the Christmas season.”
To donate, contact Wolf Law Firm at {span}317-462-9225 or Linda Ostewig at 317-477-8483, [email protected] or thelandingplacehc.com. {/span}
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The Landing Place, which serves Hancock County teens age 13-19, seeks monetary donations and donations of gift cards, hats, gloves, personal care items, candy and unisex gift items for its clients.
To donate, contact Linda Ostewig at 317-477-8483, [email protected] or thelandingplacehc.com.
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