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Agencies try to streamline holiday giving Photo by Jim Craven Mary Hobbs, left, and Bessie Meadows, of the Salvation Army sort through the 945 pounds of food donated by students and staff at Orchard Hill Elementary. The Salvation Army is one of several local agencies that are banding together to better serve needy residents. Three groups join forces to give needy families more BY SUSAN JAY Rogue Valley residents' and businesses' generosity continues to run deep, as seen most recently in the estimated 125 tons of items donated to Hurricane Mitch victims in Central America. But they also traditionally turn up the volume of giving during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Collecting all the goods and making sure that no family is left out is a huge logistical- and labor-intensive effort. For the first time this year, a plan is in place to streamline the giving. Some of the county's well-known social service agencies, including the Salvation Army, ACCESS Inc. and Community Emergency and Vital Services have teamed up to coordinate their holiday efforts. Agency representatives say that by doing so, they avoid reinventing the wheel and ensure more families will be served. In the past, the Salvation Army and CERVS both organized their own Christmas food and toy drives for families. Meanwhile, ACCESS conducted its annual winter food drive, and workers often wouldn't know where to refer calls from people wondering where to sign up for donations or where to donate. This holiday season, the Salvation Army will concentrate on Christmas food baskets, while CERVS will focus on gathering donated toys and clothes for children and families. ACCESS will stick with its annual food drive, plus the seniors Christmas boxes, and funnel all their referrals to either CERVS or the Army depending on the request or donation. "I think it's a good idea," Mick Johnson, head of the Army's social services, said of the teamwork. "We can do bigger food boxes," and the division of labor "makes it all go further for everyone." Last Christmas, the Salvation Army gave out 800 food baskets, some of which were donated by businesses and individuals, plus 1,000 children's gifts. "The collaboration is important because we have more people in our community who are in need," said Cindy Murphy, CERVS program coordinator and advocate. "Times are really hard right now." The organizations all benefit in a variety of ways, said Chris Kelley, assistant manager of ACCESS. "The community looks at all of us more favorably when they see us all working together." The agency representatives also hope that their team effort will mean a more equitable distribution of donations. "When you're in charge of what the public gives you, you want to use the gifts responsibly," Kelley said. "Part of that means that one family doesn't get five meals from five places and another four families don't receive anything." One way they hope to achieve that equity is by sharing information, so that families who hit several agencies for help are identified and kept from getting more than their fair share. Not all community organizations have joined the coordinated effort, nor do their officials think there is a problem with families receiving too much. "We would rather err in the direction of too much, rather than too little," said Lydia Perez, president of St. Vincent dePaul's social services department. The Catholic organization has always had its own Thanksgiving and Christmas program. On Friday, workers gave out 280 bags chock-full of turkeys, eggs and Harry and David-donated jellies and mini-loafs. St. Vincent leaders also didn't join because they wanted to use their own screening process, and because "they (other groups) were requiring more information than we were willing to give from the clients." Bill Gourley of the Gospel Mission said his group is working with the others in scheduling holiday meals, but that it will continue with its Christmas gift drive. The Mission gave out 125 Christmas bags of toys and care packages last year; Gourley said the Mission makes sure each family receives an equal amount. He also said he's seen families who have collected gifts from more than one location, but the total isn't any more than what most families who aren't in need give their children. "We've been around for 40 years and we like to cooperate with everybody," he said, "and there's certainly things we've been doing and want to continue to do." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA