Co-op Family Christmas creates lasting impact on community
Hope can start with something as simple as a holiday gift. For the past 16 years, the Co-op Family Christmas program has helped alleviate the stress of the holidays while making what could be a hard time of the year brighter for many area families who needed just a little hope.
“Co-op Family Christmas gives us an opportunity to help families or individuals in times when things haven’t been the best,” said NFEC Key Accounts Rep. and Staking Technician, Chris Barton. “It gives you a sense of peace, and that is something we should all strive for and appreciate.”
What started out with a discussion among Northfork Electric employees all those years ago has grown into a meaningful tradition, not only for the recipients, but for the staff and all those who contribute to the program. Linemen take the lead in their communities, bringing in financial support for the program all throughout the year, with the ultimate goal of identifying members of the Co-op who have experienced more than their share of life’s challenges. All of us have been there at some point in our lives and many of us made it through not just on our own fortitude, but with a timely helping hand from someone who cared for us.
A date is set aside each December to prepare food boxes and organize bill credits. Employees arrive at the Co-op at 7 a.m. and share a breakfast together before the work begins. Food pallets are soon delivered to the warehouse thanks to deliverymen, known to us as linemen. A sort of assembly line forms and the food boxes are carefully built, each employee adding an item that will later be used to prepare a special Christmas meal. Once the boxes are complete the meaning of the program is carried out as NFEC employees set out in their territories to make the deliveries to unsuspecting families.
As you would expect many are greeted with tears of gratitude. Handshakes, hugs, and Christmas wishes are always exchanged, and a hope renewed that the holiday will be a little less stressful than once thought.
Co-op Family Christmas will continue to touch members’ lives during each holiday season, and equally, the lives of those who carry out the mission. “Co-op Family Christmas has had a big impact on me. I have helped deliver several baskets over the years and they are all meaningful,” says NFEC Safety Director Heath Martin. “You can’t put into words the feeling you have when you get a hug and they tell you their kids will get to have Christmas because their electric bill has been taken care of for them. It’s a great program that I’m proud to be a part of.”
“My favorite aspect of the program is how it mirrors the basic foundation of our cooperative. Electric cooperatives were first started when neighbors banded their resources together to achieve a shared dream of rural electricity that would have been impossible to obtain alone. Being a part of a cooperative family has instilled in all of us a sense of what it means to take care of each other,” said NFEC Accounting Supervisor, Carrie Seymour. “This community spirit is manifested when we see past recipients who have come through a tough time choose to pay it forward and help other members through this program.”
“Co-op Family Christmas wouldn’t be possible without the donations from our members, vendors, businesses, employees and trustees,” says Glen Tignor, NFEC Maintenance Superintendent. “The experience alone, and impact made on families is unexplainable, but the feeling we get knowing we’re helping not only our members, but our community as well, is what makes this program extra special for us.”
Through generous donations from the Board of Trustees, employees, local businesses, vendors and contractors, NFEC employees were blessed to joyfully deliver holiday food baskets and bill credits to 30 families on December 19. The gifts were made possible by many individuals working together cooperatively for the common goal, much the same as when rural electric cooperatives were formed some 80 years ago. That principle may not be widely familiar in today’s society, but it works well in many real-life situations. Built on the simple notion that an act of generosity can transform lives, Co-op Family Christmas has impacted 465 families in our community since its inception in 2004.
Co-ops are, at their hearts, community focused organizations. As we continue to carry out Cooperative Principle #7, Concern for Community, we invite you to learn more about this community driven program, Co-op Family Christmas, and to help make a difference in the lives to others in our wonderful community. If you would like to make a donation to the program you can mail it with a note designating it to Co-op Family Christmas to P.O. Box 400, Sayre, OK 73662. You might just be surprised to learn that, ultimately, it might be you who reaps some of the best rewards for your donation.