Lions Club kicks off Christmas basket drive Monday

The Corbin Lion’s Club officially kicked off its 56th Annual Christmas Basket Drive Monday with a live telethon on Charter Cable Channel 19.
The club’s goal for 2005 is to raise $12,000, enough to pack 250 baskets with food and toys that will be given to area needy families on Christmas Eve.
“The goal has been pretty consistent over the last several years,” Corbin Lions Club member Chris Hart said. “We’ve had some years where we’ve raised as much as $14,000 and years where we’ve raised less than $10,000, but we always manage to do it.”
Lion’s Club members asked for donations during the first of several live TV events held at Central Baptist Church Monday night. Scores of singers and other entertainers bookend fundraising attempts during the events.
Hart said the telethons aren’t usually the main source of income for the basket fundraising drive, but are helpful in reminding donors the appeal is underway.
“It’s something that kicks off our drive and people are used to seeing it,” Hart said. “We usually get a couple thousand dollars off of it. More importantly, it reminds people that it’s basket time.”
Hart said donations are typically slow at the beginning of each fundraising campaign, but usually pick up near Christmas and even flow in as late as January.
All money donated to the program goes into an account only used for the basket program. Extra money raised stays in the account to use during future basket programs.
“None of the money for the Christmas baskets ever goes anywhere else except for those,” Hart said.
Applications for Christmas baskets will be taken this Thursday and Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the Princess Vermillion McBurney Recreation Center on Barbourville Street. Lions club members screen all applicants. Those who qualify will receive a card in the mail to hang on their door when baskets are delivered Christmas Eve morning.
Hart said the club could always use more volunteers to deliver the baskets. Anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to go to a free breakfast at David’s Steakhouse 6:00 a.m. Dec. 24. All volunteers then meet at the Corbin Vocational School for delivery route assignments.
With charitable donations focused this year by many on hurricane relief efforts, Hart said he doesn’t think the venerable Christmas basket program will suffer.
“In 55 years we’ve seen wars and recessions, tornados and hurricanes … we’ve seen everything in the world and we’ve still done it. I’m not saying some years aren’t leaner than others, but there’s a reason we’ve been around so long doing it.”