Volunteer Dave Gonzales, right, helps members belonging to the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus and inmates of Shutter Creek Correctional Institute, left, pack food boxes for needy families and homeless teenagers at the National Guard Armory in Coos Bay on Friday. - World Photo by Alex Powers

Bah! Humbug!

That seems to be the response from people across the country when it comes to giving to others this holiday season. From San Francisco to New York, donations are down and need is up.

Not so here.

Residents of the Bay Area are bucking the national trend. They are stepping up, reaching out and getting involved. But if the response here is great, so is the need. Some local charities are having trouble keeping up with demand.

Downturn hurts

Nationally, one of the biggest declines in donations is at Toys for Tots, a nationwide charity run by the U.S. Marines Corps and the Marine Corps Reserve. Donations at many locations across the country are down, at least partly in response to toy recalls in the past year. The program created a plan to encourage people to identify and screen toys prior to donating them, according to a press release.

The Bay Area Toys for Tots program will distribute toys to nearly 900 Bay Area children this holiday season. But even that isn’t enough.

“We could always use more donations,” said Vic Diaz, commandant of the Coquille River Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League.

“There’s never enough (toys) from our standpoint,” he added. “With the toys we have, we have to limit the toys we can give to each child.”

More food is needed, too. The South Coast Food Share also has experienced a drop in supplies.

The nonprofit serves Coos, Curry and some of western Douglas County and is the designated regional food distributor of the Oregon Food Bank system. It acts as a conduit for food coming through the system, which local food relief agencies use to make emergency food boxes and meals, said Rollie Lobsinger, director of the local Food Share. Food comes from the Oregon Food Bank’s headquarters in Portland, in a truck that can hold up to 40,000 pounds.

But the inside of that truck has been a little roomier lately.

“We haven’t been getting that for some time because there is a shortage of food in the food bank system nationwide,” Lobsinger said, adding part of that food comes from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. “Five years ago, Oregon got 12 million pounds of food per year from the USDA. This year, it got under 5 million pounds.”

 He said the drop-off is linked to the loss of food donations from large companies and food recalls.

 But locally, businesses and organizations have stepped up to try and make a difference.

“They really are responding to the need,” Lobsinger said.

He said local donations have been especially generous and important because the need “really is urgent.”  Sears, the Coos County Democrats and The Village Daycare at the Pony Village Mall in North Bend are among those lending a hand.

On Friday, the Homebuilders Association of Southwestern Oregon more than doubled its annual gift of about $1,800 to South Coast Food Share. This time, it raised $3,508.

“It’s obvious that the word is getting out because they redoubled (their) efforts,” Lobsinger said, adding he was especially impressed by the Village Daycare, which raised 100 pounds more than its goal of 300 pounds of canned food. “They’d never done one of those before and they just volunteered to do it.

“I didn’t expect they’d do that much. Those kids are great!”

Collecting food donations has long been a practice of the Knights of Columbus around Christmas. This year, it is more of a challenge with a slight downturn in donations.

Demand is as great as ever for the Knights’ Christmas basket program. The drop in donations has forced the Catholic organization to limit its services this year.

Ed Harwood, the group’s treasurer, said more than 1,000 families requested food baskets this year. Realizing they couldn’t help everyone, the Knights agreed to make baskets for the first 1,000 families who asked for assistance. After that, they referred anyone else who asked for help to other organizations. Even so, Harwood said, the Knights will not put as much food in the baskets as they have in years past. The baskets might have fewer items, but they will still have about a week’s worth of food.

“We have had to pare back a little bit, but we will be able to meet the need,” Harwood said.

The group has been assembling baskets at the National Guard Armory in Coos Bay. They plan to hand them out on Sunday.

In Myrtle Point, Myrtle Crest Elementary School students brought in more than 3,500 cans of food for the local food bank, the school announced Friday.

Digging deep

While donations might be flat at some local nonprofits, others are heading into the holiday season in good cheer.  The sound of coins clinking into the Salvation Army’s red kettles has continued just as frequently this year as in years’ past, said Major Cliff Jones.

In an average year, the group collects between $20,000 and $25,000 from its 12 locations around the Bay Area. As of Thursday, the group had set out kettles on 15 days and collected about 54 percent of what was collected last year. With 12 days left to go, Jones is confident they will meet their goal and perhaps surpass it.

“The last 12 days are usually the most abundant, so hopefully we will exceed (last year’s mark),” he said.

Jones attributed the good collections to pleasant weather and the consistency of ringers, who have shown up on time and at the right locations. The Salvation Army also receives food donations from Marshfield and North Bend high schools but those donations have not yet been tabulated, Jones said.

Donations are also on track at the Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s Tree of Joy at the Pony Village Mall.

The program, which began in 1983, provides more than 1,000 gifts for children and seniors each year. The gifts are donated to 12 organizations throughout the county, according to a press release. Support in the program has remained consistent, said coordinator Rene Collins.

“It seems like no matter what is going on, community members are always supportive,” she said.

Those interested in purchasing gifts pick an ornament with a gift description off the tree, then purchase and wrap the gift and return it to the tree by Dec. 20.  The tree will remain standing in front of the entrance to J.C. Penney through Christmas Eve.

Donating at the Tree of Giving program in Reedsport is at about the same level as last year. The tree provides Christmas gifts for local children. Last year, nearly 300 children received gifts through the program. One change this year is the opportunity for volunteers to “adopt” a family by providing gifts for all the children in a single family.

The Women’s Safety & Resource Center in Coos Bay also is experiencing the positive effects of the giving spirit this holiday season.

More organizations are spending increased time and money on needy people and families, said volunteer coordinator Connie Gerling. The center is benefiting from that spending, which will help the center benefit more families, she added.

This year, nonprofit groups including the North Bend Garden Club and businesses including Roseburg Forest Products and Cardinal Employment Services have become top general contributors, while events like the Girl Scout’s Tree of Joy help sponsor needy people at the center.

The Lakeside Lions also are satisfied with holiday donations.

“It seems to be holding right in the same neighborhood as last year,” said Lona Owens, the Lions’ membership director.

However, given rising gas prices and flat wages, Owens does see a little more need around the community. The organization raised enough money over the past year to deliver more food baskets than last year to Lakeside residents, Owens said. The Lions received donations from the Lakeside Women’s Club, the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce and McKay’s Market.

The group also raised money through a number of events including its bingo program to purchase about $1,200 worth of toys for children. In addition, the group raised enough money from a swap meet, bazaar and bingo to provide lap blankets to 129 residents in Lakeside and Reedsport.

She described the donations as wonderful and thanked the community for stepping up to make a difference year round.

“People in the community contribute in a lot of ways,” she said.

- Staff writers Alexander Rich, John Gunther, Sara Gray, Jessica Musicar and Alex Powers contributed to this story.