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Live United by Erin Haag

A little girl came into our winter gear distribution drive. She had just been there the week before when her mom came in to get signed up. She knew right away where the play area was and made a beeline for it. Her mom was shopping not only for her own two girls, but also for two housebound seniors. I helped Little Miss with trying on snowpants, which she declared to be perfect. Little Miss then bounced around and then spied her coat! It’s hers! Her mom shook her head and said, “I already got you one right here, it’s warm.” Nope. It’s hers! I helped her try it on, a light pink raincoat. It was a perfect fit. I tell her, “You’re going to get to take this coat home, but we have to talk about a deal. This coat is a spring coat. That means you can’t wear it on cold days, but when it gets warmer out and it’s spring, almost Easter time, you can wear it. See? It’s a spring coat. It has bunny ears on the hood and a zipper pull in the shape of a little carrot.” She promised to wear her warm coat for winter time and save this magical pink bunny coat for the spring. She refused to take off her new purple snowpants and her new bunny coat. I sent her over to the kids quilts to pick out her favorite. Some take their time, choosing with care. Little Miss was back in about 30 seconds, proudly waving a quilt with pinks and purples and hearts and flowers. Lookit! Lookit! I looked, and I took a picture of her proudly showing off her quilt. She gave me the biggest smile for the picture, but I had her hold it up to protect her privacy because I wanted to share her joy. While we can’t see her smile and her pretty curls, we can see her little hands and her purple snowpants in the picture. I’m pretty sure I know what her favorite colors are.

On the pantry side, we are still seeing increases in calls. It’s getting a little more chaotic too with the colder weather. One man came in shortly after we closed, all flustered because he was late to his appointment. His phone wasn’t working, and his car wouldn’t start due to the weather, and he had also mixed up what time his appointment was. He was late, but not too late for us to have him shop, so at least he was able to stock up on his groceries. This isn’t the only story like that. One person called to cancel, explained that they walked halfway to the pantry and then felt it was just too cold and turned back. A school administrator called me looking for resources for car repair, as a parent had called to say they were late because their car wouldn’t start due to the cold weather. It’s only going to get colder. Seniors call, wary of the cold, canceling their appointments. We brainstormed ways to get them in before our Christmas break, because it’s a cold snap for a few days. By next week, we look to be back in the 20s and 30s, so I’m hoping we can make adjustments. Normally we don’t, but with it being right before the holiday break — this is the beauty of being able to pivot to meet the needs of the community.

Every year, we load the kids up and go look at Christmas lights. Our favorite is to go to Saturday night church, go grab some takeout and have a “car picnic.” We go through the Drive-Thru Nativity and then hit up the highlights. Carter’s Light Show is top of the list. I was saddened to hear that their donation box was stolen. When I read the Tribune article and realized they had planned to donate the proceeds to the Welcome Pantry, I was even more saddened. Please extend some support and encouragement to the Carter Light Show, and I hope that the Albert Lea Police Department is able to locate those who did that. I greatly appreciate the Carter family for thinking of us, and their efforts to give back each year. If you’re hoping to check out Christmas lights this year, check out the CVB’s Bright Nights map that will be coming soon. They’re taking sign-ups through Dec. 14, and I haven’t heard what the plans for distributing the maps are yet, but I’m keeping an eye on that!

This year, our Jingle program has done well. Donors put their names in really early this year, so we had the interesting challenge of more donors than families. It always seems to work out though, and I have exactly the number of donors for families nominated for the program. I’ve been working with the donors to meet the wishes/needs. I love being the go-between for some of these gifts, such as membership to the YMCA, beds from Morris furniture and investigating transportation options through the SMART Bus. The thoughtful intention that goes into the gifts always humbles me. Often it’s a group of people working together to shop — an adult daughter with her mother that adopts a single mother, a group of co-workers in a department that decide to adopt a family in lieu of a holiday party. This year, we received 13 Jingle nominees, about half seniors and half families. What do they ask for? Gift certificates to get haircuts. Subscriptions to the Albert Lea paper. A radio. Pots and pans, warm clothing and winter gear. I read about an early teenage boy that loves sports, basketball in particular. A couple of lines down it is written, “He really needs clothes.”

As we head into the final week before the holiday, I ask you all to think about your own giving. The generosity of this community has enabled programs such as Imagination Library, Welcome Pantry, Winter Gear Drive and Jingle, and supported our Community Impact Grants each year. Please consider giving to the United Way so we can keep this important work going into 2025. Yesterday, I got to do one of my favorite things — show off the work we’re doing. A donor stopped by shortly before we opened the pantry. As the volunteers did what they do best, I gave him a mini-tour so he could see where his dollars were going. I absolutely love when I can do this — it’s the grown-up version of show-and-tell. For giving, our address is PO Box 686, Albert Lea, MN 56007. Our hours are strange through the end of the year, but we have a white drop box on our porch that is checked daily.

We welcome appointments for tours or to accept donations in person, just call 507-372-8670. Of course, we’re there during our open pantry hours of Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 6 p.m. but forgive me it it’s a little hectic during those times. I hope you’ll consider giving this year, and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to show some great examples of where those dollars go, right here in Freeborn County.

Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.