POULSBO — After the biggest year in its 36-year history, Fishline staff and volunteers say they’re grateful for the generosity of the community but they hope the support will continue into 2004.
“It’s been a tight year for everybody, donors included, and that has a big impact on us, too,” Fishline Director Tricia Sullivan said.
To date in 2003, Fishline has helped make 2,500 emergency food boxes, a service clients can request up to five times in a year, compared with 2,274 boxes in 2002. Sullivan said her biggest Christmas wish for Fishline is a few more monetary donations to help supplement the non-profit’s regular donors who have not been able to contribute as much this year.
“To finish the year in the black, we would love to have small or large financial contributions,” she commented.
An increase in emergency food baskets this year is one of the largest contributors to Fishline’s dire financial straights, Sullivan explained. That’s because each box not only contains non-perishable items from the food bank’s shelves, which are now stocked to the brim because of local food drives, but also perishable items like eggs, meat, milk and butter, which Fishline must purchase.
“The health department really doesn’t want us to ask the public for these things because there’s no way of knowing whether the donor has handled them properly,” Sullivan explained.
But besides monetary needs, Sullivan also said the season will bring a whole new batch of Christmas baskets needing sponsors.
With the community’s help, Fishline was also able to furnish about 300 families with Thanksgiving food baskets. About 200 of those families were sponsored by individuals, organizations and families and Fishline provided the other 100.
In the coming weeks, the local non-profit is hoping for similar support for the 320 Christmas food baskets that have been requested. Fishline starts with an advantage at Christmas, as the Poulsbo Noon Lions have pledged to fill 100 baskets and other sources like First Lutheran Church, Christ Memorial Church and the Kiwanis also usually sponsor multiple families. But the need is still out there for sponsors.
“We had about 320 families sign up and I’d say we’ll probably have about 250 of those sponsored,” Sullivan said. “It makes it an easier Christmas for us so that when last-minute people come in, Fishline can furnish food baskets for them.”
Fishline has already had a taste of the generosity of the season this week when donations to its annual Christmas Toy Shop came rolling in Monday. The Poulsbo Armory was filled with toys, clothes and books for kids of all ages. North Kitsap parents who signed up for the service visited the location Tuesday through Thursday.
An estimated 212 families visited the toy shop during the three days and toys went home for 507 local kids.
“Just think of the fun these kids are going to have,” commented volunteer Jeanne Maier while unpacking boxes of Barbies, fire trucks and board games. “These are really nice presents. People are so generous.”
And the whole operation is driven by donations of toys and money from community members, local businesses and organizations.
Sullivan said some of the bigger donors this season included Vinland Elementary School, St. Olaf’s Catholic Church, Suquamish Elementary School and the North Kitsap Herald.
“There’s so many people who really focus on holding drives for this each year,” explained volunteer Ginna Shotwell.
Volunteer Camille Meyers said the reaction from parents to this service are mixed, but volunteers always walk away with the feeling they’ve made Christmas a lot less stressful for a lot more people.
“I’ve done this for so many years and it’s just wonderful,” Meyers said. “It’s a really good feeling.”
Fishline is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays at 18916 3rd Ave. NE. It will be closed Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1. For more information, or to make a donation, call (360) 779-5190.
Donations can also be sent to P.O. Box 1517, Poulsbo, WA 98370.
