Corbin Rotary Club needs volunteers Friday night to wrap Empty Stocking gifts

If you have wrapping paper, scissors, tape and some time to donate Friday night, the Corbin Rotary Club would gladly accept your help and supplies as the final preparations are made for the annual Empty Stocking Fund event.

Rotary members, along with volunteers will be meeting at Immanuel Baptist Church beginning at 6:30 p.m. to wrap the gifts purchased for 457 area children in need.

“We need all the help we can get to wrap,” said Joe Caldwell who organizes the annual event.

“We didn’t wrap last year and a lot of people asked if we were going to wrap this year,” Caldwell said.

After wrapping the gifts, Caldwell said they must be sorted by family. The family’s gifts are then put in bags along with new shoes and a blanket for each child.

Caldwell offered his thanks to the associates at Corbin Walmart for their efforts on behalf of the Empty Stocking Fund.

“The Walmart associates did a lot of shopping, including shopping for all of the shoes,” Caldwell said.

Each bag is then tagged with a number to identify the family slated to receive it.

The bags will be handed out to family members via a drive-thru system at the church on Saturday.

Caldwell said the more volunteers that pitch in Friday night, the quicker the wrapping, sorting and bagging will be accomplished.

Pizza will be provided to for the volunteers.

Immanuel Baptist Church is located at 720 Browning Acres Road off of Ky. 312 near the Corbin Civic Center.