DARKE COUNTY – During this magical time of year, Christmas miracles can start with just one person wanting to make a difference. Such is the origin of a small, Darke County group known as Operation Christmas Cheer, which has been helping provide Christmas for needy children since 2011.
In 2011, one local Darke County resident put out a call on Facebook that would change lives for years to come. She simply posted that she wanted to help a family in need for Christmas. Her inbox became flooded with requests and while she couldn’t help everyone, she also couldn’t bear the idea of turning them away. In desperation, she turned to her friends and family for advice. One by one, friends and family stepped up to “adopt” a child from her list of requests. That year, children in five different families were provided gifts and Operation Christmas Cheer was born.
The following year, she was prepared and enlisted friends to help. She matched those who needed help with her friends and family. Word spread and both the list of the needy and the list of helpers grew.
Each year, the group continued to grow and evolve with many different people working to keep the initiative alive. The group now has affectionately named its helpers, “elves,” and they include local and former residents, local businesses, churches, and organizations. The group is entirely dependent on donations and the goodwill of the community.
Operation Christmas Cheer is unique in the fact that it is not really an organization at all.
There’s no government funding, no tax breaks, and no red tape. It’s simply Darke County people helping Darke County people. Those who organize the group use Facebook to match families in need with people and businesses who are willing to help. They use an anonymous code for each child and match them with a shopper, or elf. These elves are given information on the child, such as age, gender, likes and needs. From there, the elves shop for the child and deliver the coded gifts to the organizers, who then match it with any other children from that family and arrange distribution.
The organizers do a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make sure that this operation is as effective as possible. They screen their recipients to ensure that those who are receiving help live in the county and are not able to get help elsewhere. They limit recipients to benefiting from the program no more than two years in a row.
One organizer said, “We’re careful with our screening so we know the help is going to the families who need it most. Our elves have been giving from the heart for years, and we want to honor that generosity every step of the way.”
They also collect individual items, which they use to fill specific needs or to help even out the gifts between siblings. There is also the coordination of pick-ups and drop-offs, matching elves to families, answering questions, and working with local business that keeps the volunteers busy.
When talking about the program, one organizer reminisced about the many ways it has evolved and changed over the years. Helpers show up and little Christmas miracles happen throughout the entire process. She showed me their Facebook group history and it was full of photos and posts that all told stories of many heartwarming moments throughout the years.
She told me of one of her favorite experiences: watching individuals who started out on the list of families being helped, who then returned in the years that followed to be elves themselves. She explained that those former recipients who become elves later are some of the best shoppers because they know what it’s like to be on the other side of the program and they know how much this means to those families.
Operation Christmas Cheer is already wrapping up the final touches on this Christmas season. Applications and nominations start in October of each year and by November, the children have been paired with elves and the shopping is almost done.
Soon, the organizers will do their last-minute shopping trips to fill any voids and will begin distributing the gifts to the assigned families. Individuals and groups who would like to be involved in the program next year should join their Facebook group, where they can learn more about the program and get updates on next year’s deadlines.
We attempted to catch up with the individual who started this whole project, but did not receive a response. While she has since passed the torch of the operation over to others, the fact that the program is still operating and has resulted in more than 2,000 kids receiving gifts over the past 14 years shows how one person’s small act of kindness can snowball into something much greater.
The spirit of Christmas is alive and well in the heart of Darke County!
