For over 75 years, the Galva Lions Club has held the Empty Stocking Project which provides a gift of food and holiday cheer to the town’s residents. Large boxes of food containing such things as canned goods, ham, eggs, fruit, bread, cereal, and dairy products are assembled and delivered to over 130 Galva households.
This year, the boxes will be delivered from 8 am to 10 am on Saturday, Dec. 21. Recipients receive a reminder postcard, making certain they are home when the box is delivered.
Kristy Schmidt, Lions Club secretary, spearheads the project with the other Club officers. She and the 30-plus-member group began gathering food items in early November. While some items are purchased by the club, others are donated by food banks, churches, individuals, and Galva school students. Schmidt said some classrooms have contests to see who can gather the most items, making it fun and rewarding. “It’s a labor of love,” she said.
Club President Tim Folger said that the club looks forward to the project and works hard to reach out to deserving families, many of them homebound. It takes 40 to 50 hours to order, sort, load, and deliver the boxes.
River Valley Cooperative is a financial contributor and provides the space for the members to assemble and store the food boxes. Foley said that River Valley employees help with the muscle needed to load the boxes. They, along with the “Leos”, the junior high Lions Club chapter, make short work of a big project. The club is ever grateful for the generosity of those who help with the project. “We couldn’t do it without their help,” said Foley.
The Galva Lion’s Club was created in 1947 and is well known for its annual pancake breakfast, pork chop dinners, and ice cream socials. In addition to the Empty Stocking Project, members provide two Galva High School scholarships, and financial assistance with glasses and hearing aids to qualified individuals.
The group meets twice monthly at the American Legion building on Wallace Street. For information on the Lion’s Club activities, or to submit a name for a holiday food box, contact Schmidt at galvalionsclub@gmail.com.
