DRIPPING SPRINGS — Project Elf has been aiding community members in Dripping Springs for nearly four decades and this year, with more than 400 children to deliver gifts to, is no different.
The Christmas program is part of Helping Hands, a nonprofit that began in 1986. Primarily a food pantry, the organization often serves up to 200 families per week, along with providing emergency financial assistance to those in need in the Dripping Springs ISD territory.
According to special projects coordinator Carrie Gregory, each holiday season, parents who are unsure if they will be able to provide gifts for their school-aged children, or need extra help, are encouraged to sign up for the program. Then, businesses and organizations will sign up to receive a tree placed inside their facility, which house the elf hats. The 2024 organizations include:
• Adair Dentistry
• Corridor Title Dripping Springs
• Driftwood Community Church
• Cypress Springs Elementary School
• Rooster Springs Elementary School
• Walnut Springs Elementary School
• Dripping Springs High School
• Dripping Springs Middle School
• Dripping Springs Lions Club
• Dripping Springs Presbyterian Church
• Dripping Springs Methodist Church
• Flying Fish Swim Academy
• Henly Baptist Church
• Holy Spirit Episcopal Church and School
• Industrial Valuation Services, LLC
• New Life Lutheran Church
• Resonate Church
• Canyon Church
• FUSE Workspace
• Security State Bank & Trust
• Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce
• Bannockburn Church
Each elf hat is anonymous, with only a numerical code for Helping Hands to identify the child and family, and lists the child’s age, school grade, clothing size, along with a gift request and a book on their wish list.
Although registration for the program has concluded, community members can still pick up elf hats to shop for at participating locations.
“We really try to get away from gift cards and, while gift cards are very easy and convenient, it’s really something where the community has given us a lot of feedback and said that they really like to shop for specific gifts. So, we basically stated that anybody under the age of 13 had to request a gift. Then, we also encouraged them to ask for a book,” said Gregory.
Although all children within a family will be placed on an elf hat, they will be listed separately, so each community member that picks an elf hat will only be shopping for one child.
Once a community member has finished shopping for their gifts, they must wrap them, label them with the elf hat and return it to the original business that they picked the elf hat up from by Dec. 6.
Volunteers will then pick up the gifts to take them to the North Pole, where the families that signed up will be notified for pick up on Dec. 14. On pick-up day, families are also able to pick out a board game to take home and play with their children or put under the tree.
“[If all the names are not chosen], we, Helping Hands, will go and shop for the gift,” explained Gregory. “Some years, we don’t have to do any shopping. Everybody comes through and that’s great. Other years, we’ve had to go shopping for 30 to 40 gifts and it can be a little crazy. So, we just take on the expense of doing that as an organization.”
Because of this potential expense, Project Elf, as well as Helping Hands, also takes single item donations, such as toys, warm clothes and other essential needs.
“There’s times when family members are requesting sheets for the bed. They’re requesting shampoo and conditioner … So, if we get extra gifts donated, we are absolutely going to turn those around and go, ‘Here you go, on top of your shampoo and conditioner, you’re getting a new coat for your kiddo,” said the coordinator.
“It’s important for the members of our community to feel like they’re valued and they are not just overlooked,” Gregory said. “It’s hard to make it in Dripping Springs; it’s an expensive place to live and there’s people working here every day that are your neighbors and you don’t realize that they’re struggling to put food on the table, much less have a gift for their kiddo. You just want their kids to know that they’re just as valued as anyone else and that they deserve to have something to smile about on Christmas morning, too.”
For more information on Project Elf, volunteer opportunities, donations and more, visit www. helpinghands-drippingsprings. org/project-elf.
