With no reindeer but guiding headlights, Santa’s sleigh looks a little different in Johnson County.
Open Heartland is a nonprofit in Iowa City that provides immigrant families in Johnson County with basic needs from clothing to food and hygiene products. On average, they serve 200 families a week, but their annual “Holiday Elf Event” aims to help even more.
Open Heartland leans on donations year-round. During the holiday season, the organization makes an additional call to the community to help distribute gifts and other needed items during a sometimes stressful season for families.
Deb Dunkhase, the founder of Open Heartland, said it’s not a needs-based event. They’re looking to spread holiday cheer through the time-honored tradition of giving gifts.
“We really just wanted to offer friendship,” Dunkhase said.
Last year, Open Heartland’s Holiday Elf Event served just 90 families. This year, the organization was able to supply gifts to more than 350 families. That’s thanks to more than 300 people and several local organizations making donations.
In addition to donated gifts, groups from the University of Iowa and individual bakers pitched in to supply more than 400 dozen holiday cookies for participating families to take home and enjoy.
The Holiday Elf Event starts with a wish list. Open Heartland asks their families with children under the age of 18 to make a list with three of their holiday wishes.
At the event, kids will go through a line – the first stop is a plate of homemade holiday cookies. After making their way around the building receiving fresh produce from Table to Table and a toothbrush and toothpaste from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, children eagerly await their chance to visit Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Eventually, kids get to the final stop, where they receive their wish list gifts donated by community members and their families receive $50.
Dunkhase said Open Heartland encourages the community to “open their hearts” to immigrant families every day, but especially during the holiday season.
