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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2017)
8 Wednesday, December 27, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Circle of Friends kids find the reason for the season By Jodi Schneider McNamee Correspondent The mission of Circle of Friends, a non- profit mentoring program in Sisters, is to provide friends/mentors to make sure Sisters’ most vulnerable kids develop life skills, social skills, academic success, and their own indi- vidual talents. And last week 15 little friends had the opportunity to express their holiday shop- ping talents by searching for unique gifts for their families, with gift certificates for Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store donated by ZoselHarper Realtors. This was the third year that ZoselHarper Realtors sponsored the holiday gift certifi- cates for Circle of Friends children. After each sale, ZoselHarper Realtors donate to any one of five nonprofit organizations, and one of the nonprofits is Circle of Friends. As the kids shopped they learned it isn’t always easy to find the perfect gift, quickly. But help from their mentors made it a bit easier. Mentor Diane Cooper helped her friend Eva shop for a large family. I enjoyed buying everything my family should have for Christmas this year. I have presents for my two sisters, my brother, my mom, dad and grandma. — Eva “It took time to find the right gift for each of Eva’s family members,” Cooper said. With a wide selection of dolls, home décor, jewelry, tools, games, puzzles, cloth- ing and much more, the kids collected items for grandparents, parents, siblings and even the family pet. “I think it’s really cool the fact that the Habitat Thrift Store has half off everything,” Eva said. “It gave us all more options. I enjoyed buying everything my family should have for Christmas this year. I have presents for my two sisters, my brother, my mom, dad and grandma.” Nicky Merritt, Circle of Friends executive director since April, was also on hand to help wrap. “All the kids and men- tors that have done this in the past couple of years were super-excited to be able to buy gifts for their family again,” Merritt told The Nugget. “I haven’t experienced this until now, and the antici- pation for the holiday shopping was so much fun for these kids. They PHOTO BY JODI SCHENIDER MCNAMEE don’t have the oppor- tunity to shop without Circle of Friends and ZoselHarper Realtors provided an opportunity for Sisters youths to do some their parents; and with Christmas shopping for their family members. this extra adult/mentor in their life, it’s an experi- ence they’ll always remember. “Sisters is a unique community, and it’s been wonderful to work with everyone who gives so much for the kids,” Merritt added. Carol Zosel, Realtor and Circle of Friends board member, grew up in a big fam- ily with six siblings and remembers what a struggle it was to buy gifts for family members. “These mentors give three to five hours of their time a week for their little friends. And I think that anything we can do to help support them and to give them an oppor- tunity with their kids is worthwhile,” Zosel said. FINEFURNITURE CO TAB FFE LES E Adam Bronstein Cra sman By Commission 541-410-1309 SpringCreekWoodworking.com a nonprofit charity that provides fully guided and outfitted trips for disabled Veterans at no charge more than 2,000 veterans were served last year All guides and board members are disabled veterans. There are no paid employees. Warfighter Outfitters is 100% volunteer-based and only spends donor dollars on basic operating costs of fuel and food. All operating costs are funded by donor dollars. Would you consider making a donation to Warfighter Outfitters today? warfighteroutfitters.org Warfighter Outfitters • 541-719-0565 • 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
