BUTTE — Santa’s helpers at the Butte Rescue Mission are hard at work this Christmas Eve wrapping up around 600 presents for the mission’s homeless population.
Donated gifts range from infant and children's items to gifts for senior citizens. Presents were collected from area churches, businesses and one sixth-grade class from a local elementary school.
"This year we have probably twice as many gifts as we did last year, and so it’s just a lot of fun to be able to wrap and give away a lot of gifts and bring joy and smiles to the season," says Brayton Erickson, Butte Rescue Mission Executive Director.
Wrapped and unwrapped presents fill a storage room at the emergency shelter as the sound of wrapping paper rustles while Maisa Hennelly and her daughter wrap up gifts. The Mission has an array of colorful wrapping paper, but Hennelly has a system that will ensure each person's gifts stay together.
"I usually try to keep everybody same theme, sometimes that makes it easier when there’s a lot of people and then sometimes I like to be a little wild and throw in an oddball, because then you never know," says Maisa Hennelly, a volunteer elf.
Christmas presents will be distributed to the Rescue Mission’s guests in the long-term program and guests staying in the emergency shelter.
"Giving a gift and getting a gift is really part of the healing. It really helps brighten spirits and bring smiles in many instances that can be difficult," says Erickson.
