Holiday With a Hero gets biggest donation

Holiday With a Hero, the volunteer effort to brighten Christmas for hundreds of Carson City children, has received its biggest donation from local business Nevada Fence.

Along with a check for $10,001, the owners of Nevada Fence issued a bit of a challenge to others to help with the cause.

“Our thought was to inspire other people to step up and do the same,” said Phil Anderson, operations manager for the company. “We’re a local business, focused on the community, and we want to help the people who do this and help out these kids who don’t have as much as some others.”

The donation goes toward a shopping spree by Carson City law enforcement, firefighters, military personnel and others who accompany the children as they pick out gifts for themselves and family members.

“It’s the largest donation we’ve ever received,” said Meliah Gonzales, one of the organizers of Holiday With a Hero. “We’re extremely grateful to Nevada Fence. This donation alone will serve 100 needy local kids.”

Holiday With a Hero has been helping give Carson City kids a proper Christmas for 15 years — long enough to see some of its earlier recipients come back to provide their own assistance.

During the group’s recent Holiday Crawl fundraiser in downtown Carson City, according to Gonzales, a woman approached one of the volunteers with a donation.

“When our family was in need, they helped us,” the woman told the volunteer. “Now I’ll be back every year to help pay it forward.”

That’s the kind of community spirit that moved Nevada Fence to set the record for biggest donation to Holiday With a Hero — by $1.

Up next for fundraising is an event sponsored by Slot World and Bodine’s from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 15, when the restaurants will donate their proceeds. The event pairs uniformed first responders with waitstaff to serve meals throughout the day.

For more information or to make a donation, visit holidaywithahero.com or the group’s Facebook page.

Sponsored by the Carson City School District, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and the Carson City Fire Department, Holiday With a Hero is a program that ensures underprivileged children in Carson City have a proper Christmas. Donations are collected and dispersed as Walmart gift cards to designated and prequalified students in the McKinney-Vento program.