Travelers Aid Society, operator of the Salt Lake Community Shelter and Resource Center, issued an urgent holiday plea for extra-large and bigger men's coats.
The homeless shelter has received a number of winter coats, but most are not large enough for some of the homeless men staying at the shelter.Call 355-1433 or bring donations to 210 S. Rio Grande St. (455 West).
Homeless children also need new or gently used gloves to meet the cold weather.
The "Gathering Gloves" project will accept donations Saturday, Dec. 23, at the downtown Barnes & Nobles bookstore, 612 E. 400 South. At 4:30 p.m., the gloves will be donated to the School with No Name, the nation's first public school located in a homeless shelter.
Other holiday wants, needs and deeds:
- Employees of Intermountain Health Care presented more than 750 students at Parkview Elementary School with shoes and socks, as well as candy and a visit from Santa Claus.
The "Toasty Toes" shoe giveaway has become an annual event with IHC.
- Sixty first-through-third-graders at Guadalupe Schools skated into the holidays with a party at the Triad Center ice rink. Besides skating, they dedicated the Christmas tree, listened to professional carolers and enjoyed treats provided by Maier and Siebel Inc., the owner of the Triad Center. They also sat on Santa's lap.
- The Utah Food Bank recently received a supply of Hormel CURE 81 holiday hams from Salt Lake Albertson's stores.
- WorldxChange Communications, a fast-growing long-distance company, is giving 1 million minutes of calling time to runaway teens in the hopes they will call home. The company is distributing 100,000 prepaid calling cards to homeless teens through organizations like Comic Relief, Covenant House, Operation Safe Place, YMCA and through local police departments.
They're making a similar gift of free long-distance calling time to homeless men and women.
Each card is good for 10 minutes of free long-distance calling time.
- And speaking of calls, patients at Primary Children's Medical Center will get to phone someone they love during the fifth annual "Phone Home for the Holidays" program, sponsored by Tel-Amer-ica.
TelAmerica manager Jack McDonald, dressed as Santa, will travel from room to room to help patients make their free calls. The company has provided free calls to the needy since 1990.
- The Arc of Salt Lake County (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens of Salt Lake County) sponsors the Labor of Love Christmas project each year. The project matches people in the community who want to buy gifts with children and adults who have mental retardation and would otherwise not have gifts.
The Arc has received 150 applications for assistance and many of them will go unserved without community help. For information, call Karen at 359-0094.
- At-risk children who receive counseling through Valley Mental Health almost didn't get their Christmas party when a sponsor backed out at the last minute.
Enter Amoco's Salt Lake refinery staff, who raised $1,000 to pay for the party.
Partygoers included 30 children, ages 7 to 12, who each received a present and enjoyed a light snack.
- Students at Mountain Shadows Elementary School, 5255 W. 7000 South, will give a special gift to a fellow student. They learned to use American Sign Language to sing "Silent Night" during the school's annual singalong, Dec. 21.
- Navy recruiters donated a Christmas tree to Jordan Valley Hospital Monday as part of their annual Christmas project for the community. With help from ZCMI and Fred Meyer, as well as tree decorations supplied by Navy personnel, they held a tree decorating party at the hospital.
- Youths from the Capitol West Boys & Girls Club slid into the season with a skating party at the Gallivan Utah Center, sponsored by Prudential Securities' Salt Lake office. Mike MacWilliam of the Utah Grizzlies handed out free tickets to a Grizzlies game and offered skating tips. Later, the youths enjoys hot dogs and cider.
- Staff at American Express Financial Advisors' Midvale office have found a unique way to support Primary Children's Medical Center's Festival of Trees. Thegroup holds fund-raisers throughout November to raise money to buy at tree at the festival, displays it in the office lobby through the holidays, then auctions it off to employees the following November to help pay for a bigger, better tree.
Now in their fourth year, the staff raised more than $3,000 by selling hot homemade lunches to coworkers and auctioning last-year's tree. That bought four trees and numerous other decorations. Three trees were given to a needy family and nonprofit organizations.
- Nearly 5,000 Utah children will get new shoes for Christmas through the Utah credit unions' "Warm the Soles of Kids" project. Working with the Nike Factory Store in Park City and the Salt Lake Boys and Girls Clubs, credit unions are raising money to provide the shoes.
The annual event is sponsored by the Utah League of Credit Unions.
- Judge Memorial Catholic High School students, teachers and staff adopted 32 needy families in the Sub-for-Santa program. Each family received a complete Christmas package of dinner, presents and a tree. Faculty members worked all year to negotiate special donations from area businesses.
- Children and mothers living at the YWCA's Battered Women's Shelter got a taste of the holidays during the annual "Shop with a Marine" program co-sponsored by the Market Street Broiler, Gregory's Toys and Adventures and LeBus.