Iowa Premium Beef staff donate five truckloads of gifts to Adopt-a-Family Wishmas. Photo provided by Shelly Riley.

On Monday, Dec. 12, STC Adopt-a-Family committee members traveled all over the Tama-Toledo area from Iowa Premium Beef to STC Community Schools, collecting gifts for this year’s Wishmas event.

Over the past 30-plus years, STC Adopt-a-Family has been hosting a Wishmas event, where the community comes together to fulfill the wishlists of low-income families.

“The community support is monstrous, [and] that’s the only thing that makes this work,” said Micki Ferris, an STC Adopt-a-Family committee member.

This year, the STC Adopt-a-Family committee collected and sorted gifts for 81 families in the community with 345 individual wishlists. The families will be able to pick up those gifts on Friday, Dec. 16.

With the STC Adopt-a-Family working tirelessly around her, Ferris remembers past years when families came to receive their gifts.

Dollar Fresh staff Jason Wacha, Chelsea Feuerhelm, and Joe Glockl donate a cart full of presents and sleds to the STC Adopt-a-Family Wishmas. Photo by Vanessa Roudabush.

“This is one thing, but to have all those people come in to get their bags. You have no idea what a blessing it is because you get people who are so thankful with tears running down their faces,” she said. It’s from the heart.”

MICA screens families, selecting those within 100% poverty in the Tama and Toledo area. STC Adopt-a-Family collects wishlists from families and anonymously assigns them a lot number to keep their privacy safe. Businesses, churches, and community members are then able to donate money or pick up a wishlist to shop for individuals or a whole family.

Businesses who donated to this year’s event were St. John’s Lutheran Church, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Living Faith United Methodist Churches, Iowa Premium Beef, Sunny Hill Care Center, Hy-Vee Dollar Fresh, Fareway, State Farm, Medicap, Abate of Iowa Motorcycle Club, WCF Financial, STC Elementary and High School, Birkwood Village, Premier Estates, State Bank of Toledo and many more in the Tama-Toledo community.

Ferris expressed her gratitude for the thoughtful donations by community members.

“People have been generous enough to donate money for us to shop for those families not adopted, and they bring in items that can be used to fulfill wishlists. Everything that is donated to this program goes to this program,” she said.

Fareway Manager George Baack (L) and STC Adopt-a-Family Committee member Cindy Roth decorate the Wishmas tree together at Fareway in Toledo. Photo provided by Micki Ferris.

With the stress of the Holidays, Ferris understands how much of a blessing it is that the community comes together this season to help one another.

“How do you put on the brakes stopping something you’ve done for 30 years, and you know it’s so important for the community?” she asked.

Elementary staff purchase gifts for STC Adopt-a-Family while the kids help load up the presents to ship off to a secret location. Photo by Vanessa Roudabush.

Gwen Blanchard of the Abate Motorcycle Club brings in donations for STC’s Adopt-a-Family Wishmas. Photo provided by Shelly Riley.

Birkwood Village provides gifts for STC Adopt-a-Family. (L to R) Martha O’Connor, Flora Lou Finley, Ludmilla Perkins, Laura Etta Metz, Heather Keen, Dorothy Graff, Betty Sheffert, and Leona Hutton. Photo by Vanessa Roudabush

STC Honor Society shops for presents for Adopt-a-Family Wishmas. National Honor Society students pictured are Peyton Van De Walle, Kayla Heck, Jenna Meyer, Tommy Tyynismaa, Alex Carrera, Jimena Nunez, Jasmin Ramos, Ciela Ornelas, Maeley Elsbury, Cassandra Klostermann, Austyn Ellenbecker, Libby Albright, Mollie Wobeter, and Ethan Cruikshank. Not pictured, NHS sponsors Dan Lopez and Marlys Upah. Photo provided by Dan Lopez.

Volunteers Paul Chyma, John Legg, Larry Fletcher, Ray Murray, and Les Koch help pick up and deliver gifts to a special location for STC Adopt-a-Family. Photo provided by Shelly Riley.

State Bank of Toledo presents a check to STC Adopt-a-Family committee member Micki Ferris to help purchase presents for Wishmas families. Photo by Vanessa Roudabush.

WC Financial Bank staff Dahiana Puentes, Lesa Haughey, Gwen Upah, and Jenn Thiessen prepare presents for the STC Adopt-a-Family Wishmas event. Photo by Vanessa Roudabush.

Toledo-Tama Kiwanis President Karen Mixdorf is presenting a check to Cindy Roth, an Adopt-a-Family committee member. Photo provided by Micki Ferris.