Mining Journal Cheer Club gift drive enters home stretch
MARQUETTE — The Mining Journal is in its 36th year of collecting Christmas presents for the Salvation Army through the Cheer Club. Friday is the final official day of the donation drive for this year.
Toys are still steadily coming into the paper’s main office in Marquette, but the west end of Marquette County could use a boost.
“I met with the Salvation Army last week and saw the load of toys that they have in there and the families that they have to meet,” Mining Journal publisher and general manager Jim Reevs said. “It looks like they’re meeting the need pretty well in Marquette, but the Ishpeming Salvation Army needs some help. They are distributing their gifts this Thursday.”
Reevs likes to say that taking part in the Cheer Club is like giving a gift to yourself because there’s nothing better than to help someone feel the joy of Christmas who might not have Christmas otherwise.
“Public Service Garage, the other day, donated 19 bikes,” he said. “I talked to them, thinking about how special that’s going to be. That’s going to be a lifelong memory for those kids that found a bike underneath the Christmas tree at Christmastime, and if it wasn’t for the donations, that wouldn’t happen.”
Besides both the Mining Journal and Salvation Army offices in Marquette and Ishpeming, there are other drop-off points.
The Marquette Township Hall, Ace Hardware in Gwinn and U.P. Health System Bell in Ishpeming are also accepting donations.