On December 9, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center, non-profit organizations who assist Nederland and Peak to Peak families in need all year round held their annual Holiday Box Distribution. Donations of food, clothes, and toys for the Christmas holiday were given to our neighbors here in the mountains who have been deeply affected by inflation and poverty.

The Nederland Food Pantry, Community Gardens, Clothing Closet, and the Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA) gathered donations from the community over several weeks to distribute and ensure that those families who need assistance will be able to have a happy holiday.

Kelly Garcia, the Mountain Resources Liaison for EFAA stated that this year her workload has increased more than 30% due to the rise of families in need across the Peak to Peak.

“With COVID unwinding and with inflation as it is right now, those families who used to just ‘make it work’ can’t anymore,” Garcia said.

With so much working against the individual, this year EFAA has not only seen an increase in families who require their services, they have also noted having received fewer donations from the local communities than in years’ past.

On December 8, one day before the Nederland Holiday Box Distribution and four days before the distribution event in Boulder, the Boulder chapter of EFAA, which also sponsors the Nederland toy drive, posted on social media an urgent request.

“We expect double the number of children hoping for gifts from the EFAA Holiday Gift Room this year and we don’t have enough, especially teen gifts, for when we open in just a few days. We’re reaching out to the community for urgent help to bring holiday cheer to kids in our community!”

Garcia told The Mountain-Ear about how, in the days leading up to the distribution event, the lack of donations was causing her anxiety.

“The greatest stress a person can feel is when they can’t come through for their kids, and I’ve been there. So I was really losing sleep, I was in a panic,” she said.

Thanks to the assistance of Katrina Harms and the circulation of several emails and phone calls to local organizations, with only a week remaining before the toys were needed, a Nederland charity, The Lovin’ Cup Community Kitchen, donated a sizable amount to EFAA. The money was enough for Garcia and Harms to acquire all the toys needed to give many children a Christmas this year.

“They came through for these kids, for these families, when no one else would. It’s these moments of deep caring without hesitation that means so, so much. These miracles remind me why I do what I do,” Garcia concluded.

The dedication of caring people like Garcia, Harms, and everyone at the Nederland Food Pantry, and of solely selfless charitable organizations like The Lovin’ Cup, helps to alleviate the long-term pain and trauma that is caused by poverty. Such organizations as the Nederland Food Pantry and EFAA rely on the giving spirit of communities to provide from those who have plenty and give to those who have none.

Just one gift can relieve parents of the anxiety and depression of being unable to provide for their children a postcard Christmas and can show a child that they were not forgotten on the holidays.

Kelly Garcia will be holding office hours at the EFAA mountain services office upstairs at the Nederland Community Center on Saturday, December 16, 2023, for those who may have missed the holiday distribution.