A jingle in their steps

Ken Long jingled as he walked around the Henrico Christmas Mother program warehouse Dec. 6 in his red shirt, red hat and green pants with jingle bells hanging by his waist.

Known as the “bike man,” Long is a dedicated volunteer in charge of distributing the bicycles given to recipients of the program.

“I’ve been doing this since 2007,” Long said. “This makes my Christmas.”

The Henrico Christmas Mother program provides food, clothing and gifts to Henrico community members in need during the Christmas season. With origins dating back to 1942, the program designates a “Christmas Mother” every year; this year, it's Angela Harper.

“I really wanted to do it in order to stretch myself because I’m retired,” said Harper, a former deputy county manager for Henrico.

Serving as this year’s Christmas Mother has put Harper to work.

“Just tonight alone, I’ve counted 400 pairs of socks,” Harper said Dec. 5.

Her main job as Christmas mother is to market and sell how wonderful the organization is, Harper said. As Christmas Mother, Harper enjoys connecting with people in her community.

“It’s a good opportunity to help people,” Harper said. “We get to hear the needs and hear the stories and we get to understand why we exist.”

Harper also attends parades, makes speeches at events and visits Henrico schools that participate in competitions that encourage students to donate non-perishable food items for the program. Harper loves visiting the elementary schools where the classes compete to see who can bring in the most food.

“They vibrate with the excitement of the children,” Harper said. “It is just amazing.”

Last year, the students of Henrico schools contributed to the overall collection of 94,000 food items. Harper believes this type of engagement with the community is important for teaching children the “Henrico Way” of giving.

“I think it just instills in our young people that not everyone has as much as they do,” Harper said. “They begin to be aware of people that need help.”

Harper also noted the importance of the program given the large number of students in Henrico County who qualify for the free breakfast and lunch programs. The Henrico Christmas Mother program is a good opportunity to give to the families of some of these children to make sure they have food over winter break, Harper said.

In order to qualify for the program, applicants must be interviewed and present documentation showing proof of Henrico residency as well as proof of income along with birth certificates and social security cards. Documents showing proof of disability and custody are also required if applicable.

This year there are 1,463 families and 4,282 individuals receiving gifts and assistance from the program. The warehouse officially opened its doors to participants for item pick-up Dec. 6.

With its large scale of giving, the Henrico Christmas Mother program depends heavily on both donations and volunteers.

“It takes about 600 volunteers to do our program,” Harper said.

One of those volunteers is the ever-exuberant Long, manning his section of 85 bikes this year.

“I do it for the hugs,” Long said. “You give a bike, you get a hug.”

Long has a good time volunteering, he said. He jokes that the ladies he works with put a belt with bells on him to “keep track of him.” His wife, Harriet, served as the Henrico Christmas Mother in 2013.

Another volunteer, Linda Haudricourt, donned an outfit with spirit similar to Long’s: a red sweater overlaid by a silver snowman necklace.

She has volunteered for the past three years, and will work seven days this season in the clothing section of the warehouse. She keeps coming back because of the gratitude of the recipients and the people she gets to work with.

“I really like the people,” Haudricourt said. “It certainly is a giving organization.”

Other volunteers include the family duo of Patty Lumpkin who works at Union Bank Trust and her daughter Maggie Lumpkin, who works as a nurse at nearby Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Hospitals. This year marks Patty’s fourth year volunteering and Maggie’s second, and Patty is grateful for the opportunity to do something special with her daughter.

“It has been very fulfilling,” Patty said. “It reminds me of how great of a county I live in.”

Maggie echoed her mother’s thoughts and said coming to the warehouse makes her happy.

“It gives you the warm and fuzzy feeling,” Maggie said.