Sherry Grindeland / Times staff columnist
Elves packing gift boxes for troops in Iraq

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Roxetta Groenen figured she'd get yesterday off.

As of Thursday afternoon, "Operation Iraq: A Spirit of Christmas" was out of goodies to pack. The all-volunteer project was also out of cash to purchase snacks and toiletries for soldiers stationed in Iraq.

"An unexpected cash donation came in just before Costco closed, and we got more stuff," Groenen said as she watched a dozen volunteers fill small cardboard boxes with eye drops, toothpaste, paperback books and powdered juice mix.

Groenen and another Kirkland woman, Phyllis Settergren, are the lead volunteers in the packing operation. They're in charge of opening and closing the loaned Totem Lake Mall retail space that houses the project.

"Operation Iraq: A Spirit of Christmas" started last year. It was named after Ruth Ann Young's Spirit of Christmas store in downtown Kirkland. When a nearby store burned in mid-2003, Young's stock was ruined by smoke. It was too late in the retail season to reorder.

Young used her storefront to pack a few gift boxes for soldiers in Iraq. The few grew as more volunteers and donations showed up on her doorstep. By early November, the group shipped more than 6,000 boxes to Kansas, where the military forwarded them to U.S. soldiers.

Spirit of Christmas volunteers wanted to continue the project, even though Young's store is open for business again. Totem Lake Mall owners donated a vacant store for this year's operation.

This year's goal is 10,000 boxes.

It's a challenge, Groenen said. She filled a box with a package of cookies, a handful of hard candy, a used science-fiction book and a container of baby wipes. Out of another bin she grabbed vials of eye drops.

"These eye drops are something the soldiers request. I'd like to put one of everything in every box, but we don't have enough things," she said. "My goal is to put enough in each box that they won't be crushed on arrival."
 
Each box includes a holiday card and a note from a student, such as James, a seventh-grader who didn't sign his last name. It read: "Dear Soldier: Thank you for protecting our country. I am writing this to show you that we care and appreciate what your doing. From James."

Young recruited residents in nearby retirement homes to help sign the holiday cards.

The one that went with James' message read: "Thank you for your service. From a former WAC of WWII and now a senior resident of Kirkland, WA."

Volunteers continue to pour through the store doors. They come from Olympia, Tacoma, Everett, North Bend and all over the Eastside. There are individuals, Kiwanis clubs, Girl Scout troops and church youth groups — all with willing hands. Another 5,000 boxes need to be filled by the first week of November.

Organizers hope they can meet the deadline. All they're missing is cash.

"All we need now is another $15,000," Groenen said. "While we're delighted to take donations of things like paperback books, we really need the cash. Because we buy in bulk, we can make it go further."

For information on helping, go to www.TheSpiritOfChristmasUSA.com or call Young at 425-739-9627.

Musical dynamo

Gloria McNeely keeps things lively in the Snoqualmie area. She has been a driving force behind the Snoqualmie Valley Arts Live concert series.

The group kicks off its 12th season tomorrow with violinist/fiddler Mark O'Connor and the Appalachia Waltz Trio. The shows are held at Mount Si High School, 8651 Meadowbrook Way S.E., Snoqualmie. Tickets for this show only are $25. The rest of the series includes holiday, jazz, ethnic and classic afternoons, and costs $15 per concert. For information, go to www.snoqualmievalleyartslive.org or call 425-888-1514.

The Arts Alive board members are friendly folks. They provide cookies and drinks as well as the music.

So why does the 85-year-old McNeely keep volunteering in the Upper Snoqualmie Valley community? "I'd rather be overly involved than sit around listening to my arteries harden," she said.

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com