Presents and pizza at shelter's jolly July holiday

Children run happily past a Christmas tree, while others busily decorate sugar cookies. Santa's jolly laugh can be heard nearby as Mrs. Claus and a smiling family roll past on a horse-drawn carriage.

It's not the kind of scene you might expect to see at a homeless shelter. And it's certainly not the kind of scene you expect to see in July. The seventh annual Christmas in July was held at the Road Home shelter Friday.

Volunteers gave out backpacks filled with books, toys, toiletries and more to the homeless families at the shelter and a horse drawn-carriage provided free rides throughout the day. In the shelter's courtyard, some children bounced inside a huge inflatable castle, while volunteers led others in arts and crafts projects, such as ornament-making. For lunch, they were served pizza.

The event's organizers hold it in July because donations and volunteer hours at shelters like the Road Home usually decrease during summer months, said Jeannie Gamble of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, which puts on the event. People are often more eager to contribute their time and resources during the holidays, but the homeless can be forgotten during the summer, she said.

All the presents and money were donated or bought with donated money, Gamble said, and the labor is performed by volunteer Realtors.

The Road Home, at 210 S. Rio Grande St., houses 475 homeless people at a time, said Jennifer Paulsen, volunteer coordinator at the shelter. There are 31 families, 75 single women and 275 single men staying at the shelter at any given time, and there is always a waiting list.

The Road Home employs 80 people full time, and receives enough volunteer hours each year to equal the work of eight more full-time employees, Paulsen said. More than half of its funding comes from private donations, with the rest coming from state, federal and local governments.

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E-mail: dfelix@desnews.com