A Koinonia volunteer helps a client shop for holiday presents at the non-profit’s Christmas Wishes program on Dec. 13. Photo by Tim Peterson.
Wish List from the Koinonia Food Pantry
Though they’ve received plenty of canned food, the Koinonia food pantry can always use more tax-deductible donations of:
-Meat
-Milk
-Eggs
-Coffee
-Cooking oil
-Gift cards, especially ones from Dollar Tree
When Koinonia volunteer Ann Hopke sent a Nativity scene home with someone without the cows, she had no idea they were really meant for someone else.
Many people and their children have problems others would never know about, a Koinonia client who preferred to stay anonymous said while shopping at the annual Christmas Wishes program held this year at Franconia United Methodist Church.
People don’t know what’s going on in a family just by seeing the outside, the client said. And the cows mean something, they have a special value to her and her daughter.
The Koinonia Foundation is a non-profit based just behind the church that has been providing emergency relief services to people living in Lee District for the last 50 years. Those services include a food pantry, clothing closet, Hopper’s bike program and Christmas Wishes, where clients make an appointment to shop for donated toys, clothing, games, gift cards and other stocking stuffers for their families for the holidays.
This year, Christmas Wishes was held on Dec. 12 and 13. The client with the cows shopped on the second day. She said her family recently lost everything, that they were forced to move suddenly, and shopping for meaningful Christmas presents wasn’t going to be an option without Koinonia.
Coming to Franconia United Methodist Church for Christmas Wishes was relaxing, she said.
“It’s heartwarming,” said the client, “it means a lot to us. My daughter wouldn’t have Christmas, and now she has something to brighten her day.”
After sharing her story, the client hugged Ann Hopke tightly. Hopke has been volunteering and coordinating Christmas Wishes for the last decade. She said the hugs, tears and thankyous are plentiful.
“It’s incredibly heart-warming and incredibly rewarding,” Hopke said.
Hopke’s friend Dawn Garrett of Alexandria city has been helping out at Christmas Wishes and in August began working in Koinonia’s clothing closet one day a week.
“You don’t realize how much it impacts someone’s life,” Garrett said of the volunteering. “It’s definitely a gift of giving of yourself, it’s nice to know you’re part of something making a difference.”
Julie Knight of Franconia has been a Koinonia volunteer in the clothing closet since 1994. She said the setup, running and tear-down of the two-day Christmas Wishes program is “intense” but one of her favorite things to do all year.
“It’s such a joyful thing, a joyful experience to work with the clients and the other volunteers,” Knight said.
Koinonia Executive director Robert Petitti said Christmas Wishes will serve about 75 families and 12 senior citizens in 2016.
“The best thing you can do, is give,” Petitti said, decked out for the season in a Kris Kringle-red blazer and matching Santa hat. “The chance to bring a smile to children’s faces on Christmas morning -- you see how happy the volunteers are, to help someone, that’s true human emotion.”
The Koinonia Foundation office is located at 6037 Franconia Road. Donations can be dropped off during business hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Thursday until 5 p.m., and every second Saturday 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. For more information visit www.koinoniacares.org.