For 27th year, FISH Holiday Office opens doors for those in need

Since 1979, Friends in Service Helping has worked to make the holidays a little brighter for those in need.

Monday, the organization opened its Holiday Office for the 27th year, accepting donations and taking applications for a traditional holiday meal.

"The program is designed to provide a food basket with a traditional holiday meal to those who may not otherwise have one," said Robin Scott, FISH holiday coordinator.

The meal includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn, beans, yams and ingredients for a pumpkin dessert.

Baskets can be obtained for families of two or more by filling out a one-page application available at the FISH Holiday Office, 138 E. Long St., from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Applications are available in English and Spanish.

"It's a very simple application that is basically a statement of need and is available to families with more than one person," Scott said. "We also encourage single people to take advantage of the free Thanksgiving Dinner offered by the Carson Nugget."

Applications will be taken until Nov. 22 for Thanksgiving and until Dec. 22 for Christmas. FISH expects to serve about 350 families for Thanksgiving and more than 500 for Christmas.

The program is made possible because of donations from across Northern Nevada, including donations from Harley-Davidson and the Carson City Unified School District. Anyone wishing to adopt a family for the holidays or make donations of nonperishable food items can do so by contacting FISH at 882-FISH.

"We can still use just about anything people are willing to donate, but we can really use some help with the turkeys," Scott said.

FISH will not be providing toys but will forward requests for toys to the Toys for Tots program being hosted by the Ron Wood Family Resource Center. Applications for the Toys for Tots program will become available after Thanksgiving.

The FISH Holiday Office will remain open through the Christmas holiday.

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.