DE PERE, Wis (NBC 26) -- Thousands of people in northeast Wisconsin are out of work right now, and for some of them, holiday shopping can be extremely difficult. But every year at this time, local non-profits and communities across Wisconsin continue to make sure kids have a gift under the tree.
At the formerly shuttered ShopKo in De Pere, the aisles are once again bustling with shoppers. But this year gift-givers won't have to break out their wallets or dig in their purses in a check-out line, because everything on the shelves is free.
"This is it, this is the big event! So, this is our first day of distribution," says Nan Pahl the Director of Social Services at the Salvation Army of Greater Green Bay.
Pahl says every mom, dad, grandparent, or guardian who signed up for their distribution this year is going home with two gifts for each of the children in their lives. The recipients will also be leaving with a family game, stocking stuffers, and a holiday meal.
"It's been a tough year, to say the least. And families are struggling. And some of the families we're seeing over the next three days are really struggling the most in our community," says Pahl.
This is a service provided by the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, and the Brown County Libraries Give a Kid a Book program. And while the store on Tuesday looks a bit like a chaotic Santa's workshop, just imagine how the folks utilizing this resource felt when they walked inside.
"I was blown away too because it looks like it's a lot of new neat things that the kids might want to play with," says Marceanie of Brown County who is shopping for her grandchildren.
Marceanie says she couldn't help being a bit overwhelmed at what her community was willing to provide families across the region, just to make the holiday special for the kids in her life.
"It says a lot about how much people care about the children. How much they love their community. Christmas is not for grownups, for me it's for children."
In total, the Salvation Army estimates they have over 15-thousand toys up for grabs and that 19-hundred families in the Brown County area will benefit from this distribution. But it's not just the kids, who will have their spirits lifted because of the generosity shown.
"I love Christmas because I love to see kids open up their presents, and be like wow whoa this what I got. So I really enjoy it," says Marceanie.
The Salvation Army can't take any additional requests for their toy distribution this year. But representatives at Wednesday's event did say that this year's generosity from the community, has been overwhelming.
