b'the spread the word about thewarehouse staff, events staff, andfirst spreads the word about gift Christmas Store.a few groups of volunteers who helpdonations and then spends three full We have almost 30 church part- load and unload boxes.days collecting toy donations, as well ners who distribute registrationMinistry helpers at Denveras an additional day or two picking forms to parents they know needRescue Mission devote two days toup donations for the mens gifts.help, Angela said. receiving donations and one dayThe Toy Giveaway is a 10-hour to box distribution. day with about 20 staff members and Staff effortIn Cincinnati, the four-day-longvolunteers. All 27 ministry staff A s communities back theChristmas Store and its sister pro- membersfrom truck drivers to Christmastime outreaches,gram, the Thanksgiving Exchangedirectorshelp out with the Christ-mission staff and volunteersgrocery store, require significantmas Eve meal and gift distribution.get to work making these life-changingamounts of staff and volunteer effort.programs a reality. To create the ThanksgivingBeyond the holidays It is a good amount of work forExchange and Christmas Store, itM inistry leaders agree multiple staff members, Alexxa saidtakes one full-time director [work- that the long hours staff of the Housewarming Boxes. Theing] 600 hours, six seasonal storemembers and volunteers setup and background are done bymanagers [more than] 1,000 hours,spend organizing and operating our events and marketing team.and 200-plus volunteers workingtheir creative Christmas programs Once the receiving and distributiontwo- to four-hour shifts, Angela said. are more than worthwhile. These of the boxes comes around, thatFor the seasonal programs atoutreaches are designed to benefit includes our [two or three]Whosoever Gospel Mission, staffthe men, women, and children Photo courtesy of Whosoever Gospel Mission Photo courtesy of Denver Rescue Mission30 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022'