Northern Hills Federal Credit Union has branches in Sturgis, Spearfish, Belle Fourche
and Deadwood and each branch is contributing to the holiday season in their own special way.
The “Toys for Tots” drop off chest will be placed in the Sturgis branch again this year to
collect toys for children in need. According to toysfortots.org, “Toys for Tots” objective is to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas. “The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted,” according to www.toysfortots.org. NHFCU has provided a place to drop off toys for the “Toys for Tots” program for many years and will continue the tradition this year.
Another activity that the Sturgis branch will be participating in is the making of Love
Bundles. Love Bundles are blankets and towels wrapped around items such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, combs, feminine hygiene products and other items that are helpful to women in need.
Staff helps make the Love Bundles and people from the community can also
drop them off at the branches. The Love Bundles are then donated to the Crisis Intervention Shelter for Women located in Sturgis.
The Spearfish branch of NHFCU will have an Elder Tree, which is a tree where elderly
people in nursing homes can write what they want for Christmas on a card and hang the card on the tree.
People can then visit the tree and buy the things that are on the cards. Later, the gifts will be given to the elderly people who wrote the cards.
Another tree will be at the Belle Fourche branch, but that tree will be an Angel Tree. An
Angel Tree is similar to an Elder Tree. Children whose families cannot afford Christmas presents can hang a card on the tree with a present they would like and those presents are bought for them by good samaritans. Trees seem to be a well liked concept for the holidays because the Deadwood branch of NHFCU will also be decorating a tree. The tree they will be decorating will be for the Festival of Trees that will be held at the Deadwood Gulch Convention Center in the week of November 17. The proceeds from the Festival of Trees go toward the Homestake Opera House.
As the holidays creep closer, everyone is getting ready to celebrate with trees and good
deeds. For more information, visit www.northernhillsfcu.org.