Holmes Christmas Club auction earns over $26,000 to help continue tradition of giving

This year will mark the 76th year for the Holmes Christmas Club that was started in that small Wright County town years ago. The club brings together people of all ages from all across county to give back to others.

A few weeks ago, they held their biggest event of the year, their annual auction. This year, individuals, organizations and businesses donated hundreds of items, from gifts cards and baked goods to quilts and beautiful décor. The auction functions as the Club’s major fundraiser throughout the year. Lisa Kluss, a Holmes board member, said this year, they were pleased that the auction brought in over $26,000. She also added they have also been getting hundreds of dollars of in donations in the weeks since.

With those funds and others they receive throughout the year, Holmes Christmas Club contributes to several causes and groups throughout the county. They donate to the local food pantries and the Spirit of Giving charity. They give to every church in Wright County and offer $1000 scholarships for all three county schools. They give to Easter Egg Hunts and the school nurses funds at the three schools as well as backpack programs.

One of their biggest efforts is the fruit and goody bags they put together before Christmas. In early December, dozens of volunteers descend on Chappy’s in Clarion to pack bags with fruit, snacks and candy. The club filled over 1,200 bags this year plus tubs with fruit and snacks. Kluss says these bags go mostly to elderly and widows and widowers throughout the county. Beth Robinson Menges, whose parents helped start the fruit basket event decades ago, says, “This is just a real feel good thing to do for the holidays.”

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