Serve Wenatchee Preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas

Fresh off its recent coat drive, the nonprofit Serve Wenatchee is pivoting to the holidays.

500 "baskets of blessing" will be distributed to food-insecure households in the area. (Serve Wenatchee has an extensive client list from which it works.) Families can choose between "traditional" holiday grub and an Hispanic meal option.

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Former pastor Mike Malmin is executive director of Serve Wenatchee. He says donors are encouraged to flex their creativity and visual flair.

"There's a fun element to this - and that's decorating the baskets! We buy laundry baskets because they're utilitarian; it gives people something they need as opposed to just a box. But we like to decorate all 500 baskets."

Malmin says an individual basket will cost the donor $49. Deliveries are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 3 to 7 p.m. (Click here to donate.)

Then comes the Glory of Christmas toy giveaway. About 400 local youngsters will receive toys of their parents' choosing.

In fact, grownups stand to benefit in more than one way, Malmin says.

"One of the things that makes this event sort of fun is that we supercharge the event. We're actually giving a ham to every family that comes by that day. Every family will have a Christmas ham to celebrate with."

The toy drive is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.