Thank you to our community of donors who used their time, talents, and money, to make sure our residents had a very, merry Christmas!

Each year Stepping Stone reaches out to the community and asks for help in making the holidays a joyful one for our residents. With our second floor remodel in full swing, we knew we wouldn’t be able to set up our traditional “Santa Shoppe” for our residents to “shop” for gifts for themselves and others. Christmas can be a difficult and lonely season for anyone, but especially for those experiencing homelessness. And with the remodel happening and half our residents temporarily at a hotel, we knew it would be a challenging 2022 holiday season.

But we were not alone! Our generous community came alongside and donated the handmade gift bags, gift cards, gifts, money, and volunteer hours to create something special for our residents.

The Snowflake Quilters of Fridley and longtime supporters Barb Wold and Cheryl Hanks, along with Lorraine Zeiba made sure each of our 66 residents had a special, hand sewn gift bag AND holiday-themed pillow case. Many of our faith community and business partners joined in with generous donations of gift cards, gifts, and money (for us to purchase gift items). Then to wrap it all up (pun intended!), Amy Moore and the volunteer elves at St. Joseph of the Lakes Catholic Church put it all together! Santa’s sleigh (aka Board Member Tom Stinson) arrived during a snow storm, and delivered the gift bags to the shelter.

Enjoy the below pictures of gifts being assembled and happy recipients! Thank you to ALL who made this possible.