Christmas 2020

The Christmas season is on us, and we are grateful that you want to help the Community Shelter’s clients at this time.

Here are some suggestions for much-needed items and support.

See bottom of page for how to deliver and to sign up for specific opportunities.

1. Make a Shelter child’s Christmas special with gifts 

You can make the holiday special by providing Christmas gifts for a child temporarily residing at the Shelter or recently moved into independent living with their family

Please sign up as soon as possible to reserve your child. We will provide information about your child age, wants and needs and ask that UNWRAPPED gifts be delivered by Dec. 18. Please keep the  total value of your gifts to $100 per child – we want all children’s Christmas to be comparable.

We ask for unwrapped gifts so the parents can participate in their child’s Christmas by wrapping the presents, if desired, and because in some families Santa doesn’t wrap presents.

2. Make holiday cards for residential and our pantry clients.

Our residents and community neighbors really enjoy getting Christmas cards – it’s a holiday treat from the past. We need a lot of cards  to give to our 800 pantry clients and residential adult clients. We’d love to have some in Spanish for our many Spanish-speaking clients.

3. Make age-appropriate cards for Shelter children.

This would be a good project for youth groups. We have 40 children participating in Shelter activities who would love to receive a card or two.

4. Prepare a meal for our meal clients.

Most of our dinner meal needs for the holidays have already been filled by church, family and organizational groups, but we have a big need for breakfast and lunch providers. Please visit Available Dates for a list of meal dates.

You can prepare your meal at home or in our commercial kitchen – limited to four people in the kitchen due to Covid. Or you can purchase meals from a local restaurant. You have the option of serving your meal in our secure meal line or having other Shelter volunteers serve.

Due to Covid, we are limited to four volunteers in the kitchen. Volunteers are not able to go into the dining room but can interact with clients over the meal line.  The number of meals needed varies by day and meal. Contact Tara.Bryant@UnionShelter.org for more specifics and available dates.

5. Make Christmas desserts for meal clients.

We need desserts for 75 individuals.

6. Provide a Christmas Tree with detachable ornaments for a family room. 

We have seven family rooms, typically with pre-school or elementary children. This velcro-type tree would provide hours of fun for our toddler, kids, children to decorate and keep them entertained during the Christmas season.(Available at Walmart and other stores.)

7. Make a monetary donation or pledge to the Shelter.

This year, many Shelter residents and meal clients are more concerned about losing their job, being unable to pay their rent and utilities or even purchase food than they are about Christmas presents. As example, we have implemented a large-scale eviction relief program that already is assisting more than 400 households. You can help make their lives easier by making a donation that the Shelter staff can direct to our clients’ most-urgent needs. 

Donating is easy

Visit www.UnionShelter.org/donate to contribute online or send a check to

Community Shelter of Union County, 160 Meadow St., Monroe, NC 2811o.

Please write CHRISTMAS in the note or instruction field so we can honor your holiday intention.

Download the donation form as a pdf.

Please mail to Community Shelter of Union County, 160 Meadow St., Monroe, NC 28110. Please write CHRISTMAS in Notes or Instructions.

How to deliver

If you have donations, please bring them to our facility at 160 Meadow Street in Monroe any day from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Please avoid mealtimes of 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., noon to 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Bring to the door marked “Donation Drop Off” accessed by the back parking lot.

Sign up here for Christmas opportunities