Kaleena Nuttelman of Stromsburg, works on wrapping presents for deserving families.
“Christmas is a day of joy...and celebration, and it’s even more meaningful if we can prove what kindness can do by giving a hand to someone in hardship, or at the deepest point of their lives”
The West Side Bar and Grill’s “Christmas Miracles” Project started in November when they teamed up with the employees from Fagen Inc to raise money in hopes of helping families in the Stromsburg area at Christmas. A 65-inch TV and Traeger grill were donated to the cause. They sold raffle tickets for those two items to raise money. Two lucky winners were drawn on Dec 12th. Jim Anderson won the TV, and Dale Hanson won the grill. Along with the raffle money from the TV and grill, there were several silent donors from the area who contributed along with the employees from Fagen Inc.(Central City job site). They also received generous donations from Mudd Jockies Inc and Boulder Earth and Pipe Inc, both from Grand Island. When it was all said and done they raised $10,179!!!!! They obtained a list of deserving families, and narrowed it down to fifteen. They sent a letter to these, and eight responded. They were then able to gift eight families with a special Christmas surprise. All eight families received gifts for each family member, plus they were invited to the West Side Bar and Grill for a special Christmas dinner made by the employees. The West Side Bar and Grill thanks everyone who contributed to this project: from the people who donated, to the employees of Fagen Inc and the employees of the West Side Bar who helped shop, sort, wrap, and cook the meal. We also want to thank Santa Claus for making a trip to the West Side from the North Pole to deliver the gifts to all the families. Each and every person involved in this project made Christmas that much more special for eight deserving families in Stromsburg. We are already looking forward to doing it again next year.
“Believe in the magic of Christmas”
Another story of giving back is the Lions Club of Stromsburg used to give boxes of food to deserving families. The Lions Club has dissolved, so Craig Beebe took this project on. He took it to his church, Stromsburg Baptist Church. The church agreed to help with this project this year. The Lions Club had funds of $1000 left, so that was supplied for the project. Mike and Roni Branting of Economy Hometown Market supplied the food, the Polk Camp of Gideons provided Bibles, and volunteers from Stromsburg Baptist Church and the Stromsburg Ministerial helped deliver these twenty boxes of food to families.
