Several local businesses are stepping up to help meet the needs of the less fortunate in the Great Bend area during the holiday season. Check out these gift/supply drives going on this month:-- ALLIANCE INSURANCE GIFT DRIVE FOR CRISIS CENTER --Alliance Insurance Agency, located at 2120 16th Street in Great Bend, has partnered with several other businesses around town to collect gifts for moms and children who are utilizing services through the Family Crisis Center this holiday season. Gifts for women and children, along with household good and toiletries, are being collected through December 14th in hopes of providing every woman and child affected by domestic violence with a gift at Christmas. To read the full story, click here. For more information, contact Alliance Insurance at 620-792-3611.-- FARMERS BANK HELPS "LIGHT UP A CHILD'S LIFE" --Farmers Bank & Trust and generous Great Bend residents will light up children’s lives for the 21st year this Christmas! The annual "Light Up a Child's Life" program provides gifts to hundreds of local children of families in need each Christmas. Local agencies supply names for the program and the community just keeps on giving -- year after year for 21 years! Stop by either Farmers Bank & Trust lobby at 1017 Harrison or 1612 Main to adopt a child's name off the tree or make a donation. December 12th is the deadline for gifts to be returned to the bank. For more information, contact Farmers Bank at 620-792-2411.-- SAINT FRANCIS TOY DRIVES DEC. 2 & 8 --Three businesses in Great Bend are joining together to help grant Christmas wishes for local children and teens through Saint Francis Community Services "Christmas for Kids" program. Coldwell Banker Sell Real Estate in Great Bend, Wal-Mart, and Eagle Radio will be joining forces to kick-off a toy drive to help children and youth in need. Through Christmas for Kids, wishes are fulfilled for children in Saint Francis foster care, adoption, family preservation, and residential treatment programs. Individuals can help a child in need this holiday season by dropping off a toy donation at the Wal-Mart in Great Bend on Saturday, December 8th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. All the toys and funds from this drive will help the more than 170 children being served by Saint Francis in Barton County. To learn more about Saint Francis Christmas for Kids, visit www.st-francis.org or call 800-898-4896.-- GREAT BEND COFFEE CHARITY TREE --Great Bend Coffee Company, located at 2015 Lakin, invites the public to give a gift to a child being served by Sunflower Diversified Services’ Early Education Center (EEC) and Incredible Years Preschool. A Christmas tree inside the restaurant and coffee shop is decorated with tags, each representing a child enrolled in one of Sunflower’s service programs. Participants are asked to select a tag and then place a gift under the tree no later than Saturday, December 15th. Hours at Great Bend Coffee are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Sunflower’s EEC is part of the tiny-k network in Kansas that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and delays. Its preschool is for any child, including those who are developing typically. For more information, contact Denice Degenhardt at 620-792-4087.-- COX COMMUNICATIONS DAYS OF GIVING --Cox Communications of Great Bend invites its customers and friends to bring unwrapped toys into their retail store, located at 250 N. Washington to receive a free plush holiday themed Digeez doll. All collected toys will be donated to the Family Crisis Center. For more information, contact Stephanie Debano at 620-259-6455. -- FIRST KANSAS BANK SUPPORTS PAYING IT FORWARD --First Kansas Bank is giving back through the end of the year, to support the Pay-It-Forward fund through the Great Bend Dare Program. For every new loan or deposit account opened at First Kansas Bank, First Kansas Bank will make a contribution to the Pay-It-Forward fund, which provides needy children with clothing and school supplies. For more information, contact bank President Paul Snapp at 620-793-7005.
Contact Contact person varies by project (see descriptions) at n/a