CHEYENNE -- Nearly $70,000 was given back to residents from across Laramie County this year as part of the annual Community Christmas fundraiser.
Gift cards pre-loaded with $70 were distributed to 700 qualified applicants on Friday in Cheyenne. Volunteers in Pine Bluffs and Albin also distributed cards for a total of around 1,000 across the county.
"To see the joy in their faces when you hand them the card, you know, they're struggling, and just this simple monetary donation to them, it's just making their holiday," said Tony Janssen, chairman of Laramie County Community Christmas. "And that's really what makes you feel great in your heart, for all of our guys and gals that do this."
Janssen was joined by several other volunteers on Friday at American Legion Post 6 to help distribute the cards.
Community members who called to request a $70 card were qualified based on their income and number of people in their household. Janssen said they were able to provide cards for most people who called this year.
On Friday, those qualified individuals pulled up to the front of the building in their car and presented the card they had received in the mail noting that they had been approved for a gift card and present their ID, as well, to confirm their identity.
When they drove up to the building, volunteers from F.E. Warren Air Force Base's 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle mechanics team greeted them and brought the documents inside to verify that they were on the list.
The volunteers inside, also from the 90th LRS, were joined by Dora Jones, who has been volunteering for this program for around 30 years.
"This program is about the unfortunate ones that are unable to have a good Christmas and a good holiday," she said. "And so, we enjoy doing this, you know, because it's for God's people, and that's why we all love to volunteer."
Janssen said that Jones also answers the phone line for those calling to request a card and helps raise donations from local businesses.
"She's just the kind of giving woman that makes this community strong. She is all about community," Janssen said of Jones.
The funds for the program are raised through the Bar Bucks program and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Empty Stocking Fund. Last year, the fundraisers raised $59,528 and $9,527, respectively, the former being an all-time high for Bar Bucks.
Bar Bucks works in partnership with bars and taverns across the county to collect donations to support the Community Christmas program. There were around 40 participating locations around the county this year. Money for the Empty Stocking Fund is raised through online and mail-in donations to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Last year, the top Bar Bucks donor was Alf's Pub & Package, which has raised nearly $35,000 in the past two years. Second was American Legion Post 6 at $9,282, followed by Pine Bluffs Distilling with $8,331.
These donations are used to purchase grocery gift cards that people can spend at Albertsons or Safeway, but some are more localized for their community. Applicants from Pine Bluffs or Albin, for example, are given cards to use at their local grocery stores.
Janssen has been directing the program for around eight years, but has been working with Bar Bucks since 2001. In that time, Bar Bucks alone has raised over $600,000 in donations.
Luis Fernandez, a volunteer from the 90th LRS, said that handing out the cards to the community members is a nice break from his typical day of working and wrenching under a vehicle.
"It's cool to see the diversity that you have here in such a small city," he said. "It's crazy how they're struggling, right? But, I mean, we're out here supporting and trying to do our best. I mean, it's not a lot of money that we're giving out, but it's something so they can have at least one meal for them."
Xoria Gatlin, another volunteer from the 90th LRS, said she enjoyed volunteering because she could see how much it meant to the community members who received the cards.
"It's like a heartfelt moment. It makes you appreciate what you have," she said. "Like, I've seen people coming in here who are pulling up, like, crying, and they're very appreciative. And it's a moment that's just like, you're giving back to people who really, really need it. ... It's not too many communities who do things like this."