United Way opens 'store' for parents

The United Way doesn't want any Utah parent to miss out on the joy of shopping for children this Christmas.

So, in a major change to its 6-year-old Sub for Santa program, the organization is opening a downtown "store" where qualifying families can shop among donated clothing and toys.

"This empowers the parents to be able to choose their own gifts," said Kristine Pepin, United Way for Salt Lake's vice president of community impact.

The United Way hopes that each Sub for Santa child will receive, at the very least, one pair of pants, a shirt, some underwear, a toy and a book. Parents this year will also receive a roll of wrapping paper with their items.

In the past, parents have applied to the program and provided a list of needed items, which community members would shop for and then deliver directly to families' homes.

The new, one-stop process will be more efficient and, hopefully, will allow the United Way to serve even more families, president and CEO Deborah Bayle Nielsen said.

Last year, the program served 3,372 children from 1,138 families, according to the United Way of Salt Lake, which serves Davis, Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties.

When the Sub for Santa intake center opens its doors next week, the United Way hopes to have fully stocked shelves so parents can immediately begin shopping. To get things started, a local car dealer on Wednesday donated $20,000 to the program.

"The idea of a child waking up on the 25th and not having anything is just a heartbreaker," said Wes Johnson, owner of Menlove Dodge Toyota in Bountiful.

Johnson became involved in the United Way program last year when, three days before Christmas, it still had 479 children without sponsors. After hearing about the shortfall on the news, Menlove Dodge gave $20,000 to cover the remaining children on United Way's shopping list.

This year, Johnson started early, involving himself and his employees in planning as early as March.

"I think this year is going to be very cool," Johnson said.

Organizers on Wednesday called upon community members to keep the momentum moving forward by purchasing items and taking them to one of three drop-off locations: the Sub for Santa intake center, 47 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City; the Family Support Center, 777 W. Center St. (7720 South), Midvale; and Menlove Dodge Toyota, 2380 S. Highway 89, Bountiful.