Jeremy Ratliff
Editor
A local couple is doing their part to bolster the holiday spirit this season and assist others in the community, with the organization of a public gift wrapping event to be held at the Merrill Eagles Club (1205 Lake Street) on Sunday, Dec. 20 from 11 a.m-3 p.m.
Spearheaded by Dallas and Jessica Seiwert of Merrill, the couple cite their adoration for the Christmas holiday and a sincere desire to assist fellow community members, as their inspiration for organizing the event.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday. Christmas just has a completely different aura to it compared to other holidays,” Dallas explains. “The lights, decorations, the weather; the entire experience makes Christmas unique. That being said, I really enjoy giving gifts and wrapping presents. My wife Jessica has never been a great gift wrapper, and I know many others are not good at it, nor do they enjoy it. So I started thinking that people could really benefit from having someone else wrap their presents, especially with the way 2020 has gone. Having one less thing to worry about this holiday season could really help some people make it through the rest of this year!”
The event is open to the public and free of charge, however the Seiwerts encourage donations of non-perishable food items, to be delivered to the Merrill Community Food Pantry. All gift wrapping supplies will be provided, however donations of supplies are welcome in advance.
Currently, the couple has enlisted five volunteers to assist with the event, but additional volunteers are welcomed.
“We would love to have a few more volunteers to help out!,” adds Jessica Seiwert.
“There will be something for everyone to do for sure, and the more volunteers, the faster we can get through the gifts! Anyone interested can reach out to either of us via Facebook messenger.”
As with most any event operating in the realm of the current pandemic, the Seiwerts are making safety paramount.
“We are still finalizing everything, but all the volunteers will be masked and sanitizing between each gift-wrap,” Dallas adds,
“We will have separate areas in the room for people to drop off and pick up their gifts, and we will have extra masks and hand sanitizer for people to use. We are asking that everyone who wishes to participate be masked, everyone to be courteous of one another and social distancing will be mandatory to protect everyone involved.”
If all goes as planned this holiday season, Dallas and Jessica would be more than happy to add the event to the list of local Christmas traditions.
“We have no idea what to expect this year. I would like to think we will have a decent turn out, and if we see a lot of support this year, we will definitely be looking at making this an annual event.” Dallas said.
“Having the peace of mind that the community could be there to help get you through the season really can make Christmas less stressful. Hopefully this can be an annual event and we can look into helping other causes in the future as well.”
For more information, community members are asked to contact the Seiwerts via Facebook or Dallas can be reached via call or text (715)-218-3809.
Items to be donated to the food pantry, monetary donations, and gift wrapping supplies can be dropped off at The Cosmo Theatre and The Grandstand during regular business hours