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After Monday’s post on gift collections, I heard from Courtney Dore at Community Resources for Independence about a great donation drive they are doing with Plyler Overhead Door to help victims of Hurricane Sandy during the holiday season.

The “Restore the Shore” toy drive needs unwrapped gifts or gift cards in small denominations. Donations will distributed to families in the cities, municipalities and boroughs that were devastated by the storm.

Donations must be dropped off at Community Resources for Independence, 3410 W. 12th St. in Erie, or Plyler Overhead Door, 8850 Fry Road in McKean, by Dec. 12.

For more information, contact Dore at 838-7222.

Photo courtesy of Courtney Dore

One great way to give back during the holiday season is to add a gift donation to your shopping list.

This week’s YMCA of Greater Erie’s newsletter featured a couple ongoing gift collections:

-Operation Give Thanks: The Boot Camp Class at the Glenwood Park YMCA is filling care packages to send to our troops.  They’re accepting donations through Dec. 17.

-Giving Trees: Check out the giving trees at the Downtown, County and Glenwood Park YMCAs. Gifts will be accepted into December.

Do you know of any other gift collections in the Erie area? E-mail me the details at catherine.cloutier@timesnews.com.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Everyone has a wish list this time of year, including EmergyCare emergency transport.

If you are planning on giving this holiday season, consider donating one of these items to help save lives:

-Metal clipboards
-100 traffic cones
-8 GPS units for wheelchair vans
-3 desk calculators
-Refrigerator
-3-channel mini I.V. pumps
-Flat screen TV for communications center
-Roof repair services
-Gas cards for Country Fair or Kwik Fill
-20 all weather blankets
-DVD duplicator for education department
-Stove for Warren station
-Variety of couches for all stations
-Office chairs
-9 desktop computers
-2013 Chevrolet Equinox (used as medical taxi)

To donate an item, contact Jennifer Farrar at 870-1066 or jfarrar@emergycare.org for more information.

If you don’t have time to shop, you can submit a monetary donation online.

It’s been quite a week of fill-in-the-blank days: Grey Thursday (or rather, Thanksgiving,) Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and now Giving Tuesday.

The final of these days emphasizes giving to charitable and nonprofit organizations during the holiday season. According to its website, “We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals….Wouldn’t it be great to have a day for giving back?”

Here’s more information in their video promo:

More than 2,000 charitable organizations are getting involved in Giving Tuesday, including these Pennsylvania-based nonprofits.

Want to get involved in Giving Tuesday? Become a social ambassador. All you need to do is Facebook, tweet, blog or pin the #GivingTuesday hashtag and share the day with your social networks.

Here’s a Black Friday promotion that won’t have long lines.

The Community Blood Bank will give the first 100 donors on Black Friday a coupon for a free dozen of doughnuts from Krispy Kreme.

“Giving blood is one of the best ways to get in the holiday spirit,” said Dan Desrochers, director of marketing at the blood bank, in a news release. “It’s amazing how giving the best gift this holiday season will put some Christmas cheer in your heart.”

The blood bank, located at 2646 Peach St. in Erie, will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.

They’re making a list and checking it twice.

The Mercy Center for Women has assembled a list of needed Christmas presents for its adult and youth residents.

According to a post on Get Connected, the center asks that donors drop off the unwrapped presents by Dec. 3.

The list:

For children-

-Littlest Pet Shop
-Monster High
-Barbie
-Dora
-Disney Princess
-FurReal
-CARS
-Lego Ninjago
-Avengers
-Angry Birds
-Coloring stuff
-Puzzles
-Books
-Crafts
-Dress up clothes
-Baby toys

For women-

-Movies or movie passes
-Music
-Books
-Nail polish
-Makeup
-Costume jewelry
-Socks
-Puzzle books
-Bath and body products

Miscellaneous-

-Slippers
-Pajamas
-Hats, gloves and scarves

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for volunteering, that is.

The holidays are chock-full of service opportunities, the most famous of which is ringing a bell for the Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign.

The campaign launched today. You can read more about it in today’s Erie Times-News.

But the best thing you can do is don a Santa hat, grab a bell and kettle and raise some money for the Salvation Army.

Get Connected (see previous post) advertised that the campaign is looking for volunteer bell-ringers.

Volunteers will be oriented to the task through a brief telephone or e-mail conversation and then dispersed throughout the city. Open time slots are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. or 5 to 8 p.m.

Bell-ringers must be older than 16 years old. You can volunteer in with family and/or friends.

Want to sign up? Visit Get Connected.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Photo from the Community Blood Bank

Does Irish blood flow through your veins?

The Community Blood Bank is hoping people will share the luck of the Irish before Saint Patrick’s Day by donating blood.

On Wednesday, the first 75 donors at the blood bank, located at 2646 Peach St. in Erie, will receive a pot of shamrocks courtesy of Joel’s Flower Shop.

Donors all week will be entered to win a holiday arrangemnet valued at $100.

“These shamrocks are a great promotion, and I promise whoever gets your blood will feel lucky too,” said Dan Desrochers, director of marketing at the Community Blood Bank.

The blood bank is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Photo identification is required.

Have a few hours to spare this Sunday? Share Christmas dinner with someone new at Gannon’s 34th Annual Christmas Dinner and Wellness Fair.

During the free event, open to the public, the college will serve full turkey dinners to those less fortunate, and have the opportunity to meet with local health and service representatives.

However, the Gannon Social Work Club hopes anybody interested in building community bridges will attend the event.

“The whole purpose of the dinner is to interact with someone you wouldn’t normally on a daily basis,” said Parris Baker, Assistant Professor and Director of the Social Work Club at Gannon.

Additionally on Saturday from 10-2, there will be a clothing distribution at St. John Lutheran Church, 2216 Peach Street, where people can pick up clothes, blankets, shoes, coats, and children’s toys.

Who goes? Baker estimates about 700 attend to benefit from the dinner. 40-50% are from Erie’s diverse refugee population, often spending their first Christmas in the United States.

“For students, the best thing that they can do is come and talk with someone who’s just come from Somalia (for example),” said Baker.

Additionally, about 500 volunteers from the Gannon and greater Erie community come to serve and share dinner with others. Many from Gannon’s sports teams come out to volunteer including the women’s volleyball and softball teams. The men’s baseball team will be volunteering their time both to aid the clothing distribution Saturday and the dinner Sunday.

“That contribution floors me, that’s 27 men and their coaches,” said Baker.

Wellness Fair: “It really helps to make the initial contact easier to initiate by our guests,” said Baker.

For kids? Gannon’s Education Department also offers the Children’s Care Room, where they offer fun educational activities. Santa will arrive around noon.

When? The dinner and fair start at 10 a.m.

Where? Come to the University’s Hammermill Center, 620 Peach Street.

Christmas lights, fireworks, and local charity support. What’s not to love?

What is it?

The 3rd Annual Christmas in the Sky, put on by Brian Rieger and his family at their Girard home, aims to raise funds, collect needed items, and spread awareness about the Erie City Mission and its cause.

Synchronized Christmas lights play to music; to hear, tune your radios to 88.3 FM while at the show. Encouraged by the success of their 2009 and 2010 shows, the Riegers have bolstered their hardware for what they promise will be an ever better show.

Prime Pyrotechnics will provide the fireworks display at a highly discounted rate, and local business sponsors offset the cost. A fun Chinese Auction also raises funds for the Erie City Mission.

The show? December 17, 7-8pm at 5962 Teller Road in Girard. See their listing on GoErie.com/Events.

What to bring? Personal care items, like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, moisturizer, etc. After speaking to the ECM, Rieger decided to encourage people to bring these items, because people can’t get personal care items from various ECM services, like their food pantry.

Bring your wallet for the Chinese Auction, with gifts and prizes donated by local business. No one is required to make a monetary or item donation to attend Christmas in the Sky; however, you are encouraged to help out in whatever way you can.

Click on this link to donate via PayPal.

Motivation? 

“The Erie City Mission is about getting people off the street,” said Brian Rieger, who became a big ECM supporter, “after talking to people I’ve known personally who were literally living under their cars who were helped.”

“For someone who hasn’t met someone who’s homeless, they don’t understand the scope of the problem (in Erie County).”

Your motivation: Helping the greater Erie community by supporting the Erie City Mission. Plus, every person who donates a personal care item will receive a free cup of hot cocoa and a cookie. Yum.

Like them on Facebook to keep up with Rieger Christmas updates.

My favorite part about their site, www.riegerchristmas.com? The countdown to Christmas clock in days, hours, minutes, and seconds.