With Santa Claus milling around Monday morning, the Candy Cane Corner is beginning to look like the "magical holiday gift store" that organizers promise it will be when it officially opens its doors next week.

Boxes of hats and gloves sit alongside stacks of children's toys and new clothing, ready for customers to pick out the right gifts for their loved ones. Once wrapped, the items will stay there until just before Christmas, when volunteers will deliver them to their intended recipients at the YWCA and The Road Home homeless shelter.

Sophia Adams has done her Christmas shopping at the Candy Cane Corner for the past three years. Living in the YWCA's transitional housing program, the 35-year-old mother had little means to provide holiday gifts for her four children.

"When you're having to start all over again from scratch, it's hard to buy Christmas presents on top of that," Adams said. "To be able to come here and get those things, it's ... I can't even describe it. It's wonderful, it really is."

Beginning Dec. 11, the store will be open to those participating in programs at the YWCA and The Road Home. With their caseworkers at their side, they will be allowed to shop the new, unwrapped inventory for clothing, toys and household items.

Last year, the Candy Cane Corner provided holiday gifts to 1,345 homeless Utahns, including one 5-year-old boy living in the YWCA's crisis shelter who, when he awoke to find his Christmas presents, shouted, "He found us, Mom. Santa found us."

The story is a favorite of Anne Burkholder, CEO of YWCA of Salt Lake City. "It's important for us to support one another and care about one another every day of the year," she said. "But the holidays are especially poignant if you don't have a home."

Organizers looking to stock the shelves before Monday's opening received a healthy start Monday, with the donation of more than 2,500 women's and teens' short- and long-sleeved shirts and camisoles from a local company.

Kristin Barlow, founder and CEO of Cover Wear Clothing, contacted the YWCA for opportunities to contribute this holiday season. For every shirt sold in November and December, Cover Wear has pledged to donate one shirt to the Candy Cane Corner.

"As we're growing, we thought it was time to give back to the community," Barlow said. "Where we're selling to women, this seemed a perfect fit for us."

Barlow on Monday called upon other local businesses to join her company in supporting the Candy Cane Corner. Individuals can also donate to the store, at 341 S. Rio Grande St. (455 West), from now until Dec. 23. Items can be dropped off between 1 and 7 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com