MINOT – As with many good causes, Journey Church’s Christmas Mall is put on by many volunteers.
The Christmas Mall is an event Thursday through Saturday where guardians or parents who registered can come shop for free gifts that fit their children’s ages at Journey Church.
This being the church’s fifth year, there were over 150 families registered, which ended up being around 450 kids that are being shopped for. With this many gifts, it required around 80 volunteers, some to wrap the gifts, some to answer questions, and some to do a mix of everything.
Marcia Madden, a volunteer from California who lives in Minot, said her job at the event is to be a floater.
“I came up for the weekend to help because I’ve been doing it with my daughter for years,” said Madden. “My job is to do whatever needs to be done. I’m the detail person. I take care of the details.”
Brenda Anderson, a volunteer who has been attending Journey Church for 10 years, said her job is a mix of everything, including wrapping gifts and talking to guests.
“It’s amazing to watch every year the growth and all the people that we get to touch in our community,” said Anderson.
Dan Dangerfield, volunteer and pastor of Journey Church, said he absolutely loves helping out with the event.
“My favorite part is just watching our team members serve and give,” said Dangerfield. “They get so excited about this. We know Christmas isn’t about the gifts, but they sure help put people at ease a little bit. Christmas can be stressful for a lot of people, and part of our goal is to relieve some of the stress part of it so people can relax and enjoy their time with their family.”
Journey Church is located at 1805 Second Street Southeast, Minot, North Dakota, 58701. More information on the church can be found on its website.
