You don’t have to go to the North Pole to see magic this time of year.
Four hundred of Santa’s little helpers are hard at work inside a Kearney home.
Mark Varone is one of those helpers. When all is said and done, 125 families will benefit from their efforts.
“They surprisingly look just like the rest of us, so it kind of brings it home that this can be you any year," Varone said.
The volunteers are rounding up things most often taken for granted.
“We’re providing jeans, coats, shoes, stuff like that,” Varone told 41 Action News. “Then three months of groceries.”
Kim Thorne is the brain of the operation known as the Kearney Family Foundation. She started this 16 years ago.
“That first Christmas we were renting a house and it was a mess,” she recalled. “We had stuff to the ceiling, and so I felt bad. I bought my kids extra gifts that year, and my 7-year-old, who’s now 23 said, Christmas just wasn’t fun this year mom. It’s much better when you run around crying and you’re worrying about everyone else.”
A lot of love goes into this operation. Normally money can’t buy love, but this is an exception.
Thorne and the volunteers collect money a year in advance to help the families in need. Right now the organization is $20,000 short for its 2017 efforts.
“One hundred percent of everything donated goes back to the community.”
Varone said you’d be surprised to learn which families are actually in need, "because there are people that need help and you never know when you might be that person.”
Click here to learn more about the Kearney Family Foundation and how you can help.
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Kevin Holmes can be reached at Kevin.Holmes@KSHB.com
