SALAMANCA — ‘Tis the season to pay it forward.
The local Pay It Forward group continued to help friends and neighbors who were down on their luck this holiday season. On Sunday, the group made Christmas brighter for 163 local families in need, totaling 561 adults and children.
This year’s program again occupied the former Terra Publishing building on North State Street where volunteers distributed food boxes and gifts to people waiting in line in their vehicles.
Organizer Tim Jackson said local firefighters from the Seneca Nation’s Allegany Territory and city of Salamanca fire departments delivered Christmas packages to nine designated families who were not able to pick them up at the distribution center.
“The place works out well because the volunteers have plenty of space to collect, store and wrap the food and gifts. It’s also an ideal spot for people to pick up their packages,” said Jackson, who owns the building. “Like last year, everyone drove around the back of the building from where the boxes were loaded. This was all at no cost to the recipients.”
Jackson said more than 30 businesses all around the area participated in the group’s Tree of Hope program. Community residents chose a tag — or two — from the tree listing the first names of the children, their age, size and Christmas toy wish. They took the tags and bought gifts, then brought them back to the same business, unwrapped, by Dec. 13.
“The gifts started coming in about the last week of November. When December hit, the presents really started rolling in,” he said.
Jackson said the 2022 and 2023 programs totaled over $50,000, and this year’s program totaled more. He said each family received on average over $500 worth of toys, clothing, bedding, household items and a week’s worth of food, including a ham.
“We did not do the ham giveaway this year because we wanted to concentrate on taking care of our families,” he noted.
LEADING UP TO the event, the group held three food drives — two at Save-A-Lot and one at Sander’s Parkview. Jackson said they also got food donations from Saving Grace Outreach in Cattaraugus.
Prior to the event, a dozen or more dedicated volunteers worked for months packaging and boxing food, along with collecting all the presents from the Trees of Hope located at the participating businesses. According to Jackson, the volunteers spent endless hours wrapping approximately 5,000 gifts that were distributed to families in need.
The Pay It Forward group welcomes any volunteers who would like to help out on this humanitarian project, especially people who love to wrap presents. Jackson said they could use much more help next year because the program keeps growing.
Jackson and his volunteers have spurred area residents into helping others who are less fortunate in their communities. This is not an organization, but rather a small group of local people and businesses that have taken it upon themselves to give clothing, food and toys to fill needs, especially during the holiday season.
FOR MORE than a decade, the Pay It Forward group has given local families in need a brighter holiday season. The program began in 2011 and, since then, it’s been getting bigger and bigger.
Jackson says the campaign is the largest charity Christmas program in the area — it serves Salamanca, Little Valley, Cattaraugus, Great Valley, Kill Buck, Sawmill, Bucktooth, Napoli, Randolph, Steamburg, Limestone, Carrollton and Vandalia.
The Pay It Forward motto says it all, “We can help. We are you.”
Jackson said the campaign has grown bigger each year and it’s all because of the generosity of the people of Salamanca and the surrounding area. He asks the community to Pay It Forward to help friends, neighbors and co-workers all year long, not just during the holiday season.
If anyone knows of somebody who needs a helping hand, give the Pay It Forward group a call at (716) 499-9850. All information received is kept confidential.
