SALEM, Va. (WDBJ) – It’s the most wonderful time of the year and the Community Christmas Store of the Roanoke Valley is giving families in need the opportunity to make their Christmas special with a free shopping experience.

For 31 years, the Community Christmas Store has blessed hundreds of families with a Christmas to remember during the holidays. This year is no different as they welcome around 389 families through the doors.

“We serve those who are outside the poverty level of the Roanoke County, Salem, Vinton and Craig County and we take applications in coordination with a couple of government organizations in the area to find out those who we can help. We serve those who are infants all the way to disabled seniors,” said Community Christmas Store Grant Coordinator, Natalie Sigmon.

Pre-qualified families shop at no-cost. When families enter the store they’re greeted by a host, grab a cart and can shop in every department from kitchen appliances, food products, clothing and you can’t miss the outstanding toy section.

“We are looking for any kind of donations we can get or grants we can connect with to be able to provide specifically what those individuals need. So, we shop according to their needs, their request. We do have some special request that come through, we go out and shop just for those and come in and organize it, get it together to make sure we have what every person is looking for,” said Sigmon.

Hundreds of volunteers work tirelessly all year to ensure each day of operation leads to lasting memories.

“This year we got 18,000 pounds of food, thankyou Feeding Southwest Virginia. So were going to distribute that this weekend in three days. It’ll all be gone by Saturday. I’ve got great coordinators and volunteers hat help put boxes together, loading the vehicles in the back,” said Community Christmas Store Food Box Coordinator, Ray Huff.

Ray Huff and his wife Felicia have volunteered for the Christmas store for over 25 years and find joy in the impact it makes on the community every holiday season. Huff said even after 31 years many people in the community don’t know about their services.

“Our philosophy is our families that we serve, they don’t have the best of luck all year long. So, we want to make sure one day out of the year they have nothing to worry about. They have a nice Christmas some nice gifts and plenty of food,” said Huff.

The store is set up in a different location every year based on space availability. This year, the store is running operations from the Spartan Square in Salem. Organizers hope to one-day be able to call a permanent location home.

“When this is all done on Saturday it all comes down and goes back to being an empty building again because we don’t have current places to keep everything all the time. That’s another reason why we purchase just for the people that are here because we don’t have storage for it. So when its done we try to tote it down to as little as we can and get storage space for the year until we find another donated space for next year,” said Sigmon.

But they are happy to continue bringing smiles to families during the holidays.

To donate to the Community Christmas Store, volunteer or apply to be a participant in next year’s services visit https://www.roanokevalleyccs.org/

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