Christmas may be a few more months away, but some Cordell residents are already getting to work on making sure those in need can celebrate this holiday.
As you make your way through Amy Riggs’s shop, you’ll be greeted with multiple wrapped gifts, boxes, gift wrapping supplies, and multiple miscellaneous items as she is well underway in getting her Christmas fundraisers started.
How does she help?
For the past few years, Riggs has worked on multiple Christmas-related fundraisers such as Silver Santa, a program she began eight years ago.
In collaboration with the Cordell Christian Home, Riggs collects gifts herself and from people in the community to be able to wrap and take them to the nursing home.
Similarly, Riggs also partners with the local Headstart program in order to provide all of its kids with a gift for their Christmas event, and also works with Samaritan’s Purse, an international program that collects shoeboxes filled with toys and other items that are then shipped out to children in need.
Riggs said that throughout the year people donate all kinds of things for all of her fundraisers such as crocheted scarfs for the nursing home as well as toys.
Riggs Nutrition, Riggs’s shop, also collects tips that she will donate in order to get the Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes shipped out.
“I really appreciate my customers, because, without them, I wouldn’t be able to do it. I appreciate Tanya and Robert [Venable] helping me out and other business owners.
I appreciate the past and present people that have helped me do this because I would definitely not be able to do it without them because I don’t do it alone,” Riggs said.
“There have been so many people in the last few years who have helped me wrap, who have helped me shop, who have helped me financially. I don’t do this alone at all.”
How can you help?
Currently, Riggs is underway on her preparations for her fundraisers as she has gotten multiple gifts ready for Silver Santa, Headstart Christmas, and the Samaritan’s Purse fundraiser.
While the community can help by leaving donations for shipping out the Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes, or by bringing her some needed gift items such as unwrapped toys, large print crossword or word-search puzzle books, emery boards, non-slip socks, and lap blankets, Riggs also has other needs she faces every year
Due to COVID, Riggs and her daughter are the only ones wrapping the presents this year and Riggs hopes that people will also donate gift wrapping supplies.
“If they want to give wrapping paper, I always run out of wrapping paper and tape,” she said.
“It’s definitely the whole community, even though it is out of Riggs Nutrition, it is definitely the whole community,” Riggs said. “ I would not be able to do this without my customers, because the tips go to this. Without my customers keeping me open, I would not be able to do any of this.”
Why does she do it?
Riggs’s first Christmas fundraiser, Silver Santa, was originally done by the 4th and College Church of Christ before it slowly transitioned and stayed with Riggs who became in charge of it out of her shop.
“I used to work for the nursing home when I was a single mother, and they were very good to me,” Riggs said.
“Sometimes family members live out of town. They can’t show up for the party, and so many times I would see people so lonely that were residents there that didn’t have family. So it inspired me to put a box together.”
Her Headstart Christmas fundraiser would later be started in a similar fashion as Riggs’s daughter was a part of the Headstart program.
“Every year, they would have a Christmas party and they would get Santa.
Well, Headstart historically is for lower-income families, and when my kid was in Headstart, there were some families that wouldn’t show up because you’d have to bring a gift for Santa to pass out.
Low-income families, it was hard for them to provide for their own Christmas, let alone bring a gift to the party. So I thought, well, you know what, why don’t we just bring a gift to the party? That way the kids could still participate in the party and Santa could give them a gift because there’s nothing worse than [thinking], was I a bad kid this year, why didn’t Santa bring me a gift?”
Lastly, the Samaritan’s Purse fundraiser was adopted after Riggs was asked if she would like to start it.
“[Debbie Holland] said would you put some shoe boxes in here? And like I said, I have a customer who coupons and she brought me a lot of little toys that I couldn’t use for Headstart because of the age of the children there,” Riggs said.
“So I thought, well, they’re perfect for the shoeboxes... Children overseas also need gifts too so why not? The more we can give back the better.”
Donations of gift items or of wrapping supplies can be dropped off at Riggs Nutrition, 214 E. Main St., Cordell. Donations are accepted year round.