Shannon Porter manages the North Elba Christmas Fund with fellow town employee Britt Isham. Porter was in charge of organizing the meals at the highway garage, and Isham was in charge of the clothing and toy distribution last Wednesday at the town hall.

When volunteers arrived at the highway garage Saturday morning, Dec. 15, meal boxes had already been filled with non-perishable items. On Friday, volunteers included Lake Placid Middle School teacher Kristen Boslet, teaching assistant Sandra Ashley and eighth-grade students Alison Casler, Jacob Loudermilk, James Howell, Ariana Williams and Elizabeth Fortune.

At 6:30 a.m. Saturday, a truck full of perishable items, such as chickens and turkeys, was unloaded and those items were placed in the boxes. Within a couple of hours, those boxes were distributed around town.

“Throughout the whole process of setting up, packing and delivery, there were about 50 volunteers!” Porter said.

The food boxes included complete fixings for a Christmas dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, apple pie and butter. In addition, families were given peanut butter, jelly, bread, milk, Christmas chocolates, hot chocolate and whipped cream. Families with one to two people received a chicken, and families with three people or more got a turkey.

Also, about 220 Christmas Cactuses were distributed to residents of The Greenwood and Elderwood of Uihlein at Lake Placid. Torry Hoffman and his Boy Scout troop and Travis Sweet with Cub Scout Troop 8110 delivered all the plants.

Porter would like to acknowledge the following businesses for their help for displaying “elfing trees” or collecting items for donation: NBT Bank, Adworkshop, Element Day Spa & Salon, Northwood School, Tri-Lakes Federal Credit Union (Lake Placid), Lake Placid Seniors, Mirror Lake Inn, Tractor Supply Co. and the Palace Theatre. The town of North Elba Highway Department, North Elba Park District and Lake Placid village departments helped set up and delivered or “whatever was asked of them.” Porter also wanted to thank those who made monetary donations and the local businesses and residents who have donated time, toys, clothes, hats, mittens, books and other items.

“It really takes a village to make this happen,” Porter said.