Holiday with a Hero nears donation goal

With four days left before the donations deadline for Holiday with a Hero, the community has made progress toward making sure homeless students are able to purchase a few presents to put underneath the Christmas tree this year.The program, administered by the sheriff’s office, aims to give up to 300 homeless Carson City students $100 to spend on presents to sit beneath their Christmas trees.On Dec. 1, the program faced a $13,000 shortfall. Donations, large and small, have shrunk the gap to $2,500 — with a total of $26,000 raised. The deadline for donations is Wednesday, for a total goal of $28,500.The children range from elementary to high school students. The students often buy necessities for their family members, rather than toys for themselves, Carson City Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Gonzalez said.Shopping occurs Dec. 13 and 14. Children are taken to shop with first responders, members of the military and heroes of all stripes.Meliah Gonzales, who also helps administer the program, said a personal check for $2,000 and another for $5,000 have recently come in.“Every amount helps,” she said. “It adds up quickly,” and donations as small as $5 lead to a merrily memorable Christmas for homeless children. “I want to thank the people” who have donated so far, she said, echoing the sentiment of the people putting on the program.The students are taken to Walmart with their hero to shop and then are treated to a free lunch from McDonalds.Questions can be emailed to mgonzales@carson.org. Checks need to be made payable to “Holiday with a Hero” and donations can be mailed to:• PO Box 2790, Carson City, 89702• They can be taken to the Carson City Sheriff’s Office at 911 E. Musser St. • Donations can be made at Bank of the West at 2976 N. Carson Street under Account No. 025761072.• The tax identification number is 80-0763632.