Haley Gustafson | Daily Press Eileen Stebbins, a volunteer for the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Gladstone, arranges food on a shelf Tuesday afternoon. The pantry is gearing up to start making Christmas baskets for those in need in the Gladstone area.

ESCANABA — The holidays are right around the corner, and many local organizations are gearing up to help the area’s needy.

District Council President of St. Vincent de Paul Patricia Gartland, said the St. Vincent de Paul Service Center in Escanaba, along with its five area conferences, create Christmas baskets for families in need every holiday season.

“This tradition began 50 years ago with the establishment of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in our area,” she said.

The baskets are put together by volunteers and provide meals along with presents and clothes for families around the Escanaba area. Food and gifts are donated to the St. Vincent de Paul pantry by local businesses and individuals in order to create more than 400 baskets that are distributed.

“This year we expect to give out more baskets due to the great need in our area,” she said.

Approximately 40 volunteers are needed to assemble the baskets, said Gartland, including the eighth grade class at Holy Name Catholic Grade School. Students from the Escanaba High School carry the baskets to the cars of basket recipients. Pick-up day for the baskets in Escanaba will be Dec. 16.

In Gladstone, the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry also assembles Christmas baskets for residents of the Gladstone area. According to Pantry Manager Nancy Frazer, the baskets provide a full holiday meal and breakfast for the next day after the holiday.

Along with food items, toys from the Toys for Tots campaign are also given to recipients who have children. The Toys for Tots Campaign, which is a project of the Marine Corps League, collects unwrapped toys for needy children in Delta and Menominee counties. Monetary donations for the Toys for Tots program are also collected in various stores, restaurants, and other locations around the Delta and Menominee area with a red bucket in their establishments.

Frazer said the Gladstone St. Vincent de Paul pantry made and distributed 125 baskets last year and takes about 20 volunteers to put together the baskets. The pantry also works with All Saints Catholic Church in Gladstone when the church does their basket project.

She noted the experience of being apart of making baskets is rewarding.

“It’s really nice to able to give a helping hand,” she said, adding the people in the local area who give towards the baskets and other charity projects are very generous with donations.

Pick-up day for Christmas baskets in Gladstone will be Dec. 17.

Operation Christmas Child, which is run by Christian humanitarian aid group Samaritan’s purse, is also in full swing. This program allows people to fill up a shoe box full of goodies to send to children in African, South American, Asian, and European countries. Each box and its contents are assigned by the ages of the recipients. The national collection week for Operation Christmas Child is Nov. 14-21.