Angel Project serves 77 families this holiday season

By Neal Hogden

When Brandi Neuenfeldt took over the Christmas Angel Project in 2017, she had big goals for the program that had helped so many kids enjoy Christmas already.

This year, the Christmas Angel Project, formerly the Angel Tree Project, helped give gifts to 77 families and 195 kids. Along with the gifts, gift cards were handed out for families to use at Abby County Market and hams were donated by Gary Orth of Best Choice Builders.

The program was in need of someone to take over as the previous organizer had left the program and no one had been willing to step up and take it over.

Neuenfeldt said she had the opportunity to help take over the Angel Project in years prior but never envisioned herself as the leader of the program until she heard there would be no program if no one stepped up and took it over.

Neuenfeldt said her current goal is to grow the program to encompass more donations in order to help more kids enjoy having gifts for Christmas.

Serving the current number of kids and families the program does, wouldn’t be possible without a host of volunteer work put in by community members.

See CHRISTMAS ANGEL/ Page 16 Christmas Angel

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Neuenfeldt said the Colby High School Student Council put in volunteer work for years but when Covid hit, she needed to find new volunteers. The 18 Wheels Motorcycle Association stepped in to help volunteer by distributing gifts and hams at the event on an annual basis.

The Colby Lion’s Club donated the week of use of their shelter in Colby and other area businesses such as AbbyBank, Shear Perfection and Forward Bank banded together to provide gifts for the project. Neuenfeldt said the donation of the shelter is a huge blessing for her and the project.

“It takes me all week of using the shelter to get stuff done,” Neuenfeldt said. “Monday and Tuesday, people are bringing stuff to me or I’m collecting it. I have to sort the gifts and make sure every angel is covered.”

The project has been going for over 20 years, a feat that wouldn’t be possible without the support of the communities and especially, area churches who donate to the event. Among those churches are: Zion Lutheran Church and St. Mary Help of Christian Parish in Colby, St. Peter Lutheran Church in Dorchester, Trinity Lutheran in Unity, First Presbyterian Church and St. Bernard Catholic Church in Abbotsford and St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Green Grove.

PULLING TOGETHER - The Christmas Angel Project wouldn’t be possible without the help of community volunteers. Forward Bank employees including Traci Geiger, Bianca Devora Galan and Gary Schraufnagel donated time and gifts to the event.