YOUNGSTOWN Gifts come wrapped in renewed sincerity

One individual delivered 40 frozen turkeys to the Rescue Mission.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- This Christmas, Americans have more on their minds than candy canes and mistletoe. The gifts they're giving reflect that.
Since the terror attacks, Americans' "hearts are more sensitive and people are more courteous," observed Rev. David L. Sherrard, executive director, Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley.
His organization has benefited in a big way. Contributions to the Rescue Mission were slow after the terror attacks. "A lot of money left the Valley for New York and people's pockets are only so deep," the Rev. Mr. Sherrard noted.
Consequently, donations to the Rescue Mission "were very bad in October. November was off too. And they were slow at the beginning of this month, then it picked up."
One contributor "heard we needed turkeys, so he went out and got 40 frozen turkeys and loaded them into his truck," Mr. Sherrard said.
That was the first time in the 13 years Sherrard has run the mission "that an individual has done something of that magnitude. Within one week, 700 turkeys came in," he said. "That shows the generosity of people in the city of Youngstown and the surrounding communities.
Holiday shoppers also want gifts that make a difference.
Ten Thousand Villages: "Our sales are up very good this December, well over last year's," said Arthur Detrow, a volunteer at Ten Thousand Villages in Columbiana. Detrow is from Leetonia and volunteers at the shop one day a week.
Ten Thousand Villages, operated by the Mennonite Central Committee, offers a variety of decorative and household items made by artisans from developing countries. Proceeds are returned to the artisans, enabling them to earn a living.
Nationwide, sales at Ten Thousand Villages were up 23 percent in November, Detrow reported. Most shoppers in the Columbiana store are buying gifts, he said. They come from within a 40-mile radius to buy things that will not only delight gift recipients but also help support families in countries such as Pakistan and Tanzania.
Hot items this year, Detrow said, are Christmas decorations, manger scenes and angels.
Patriotic items: Sales are also up at Things Remembered in the Eastwood Mall. Manager Jen Dellavalle estimates December sales at her store will surpass those of last December by at least 3 percent.
Patriotic merchandise -- a flag heart ornament, silver-plated dog tag with crystal flag and American flag throw -- "are really what's been flying out the door," Dellavalle said. An ornament and snow globe, sales of which benefit the Make A Wish Foundation, sold out in record time, she added. "We always sell out, but this year they went really quick."
Like the shoppers at Ten Thousand Villages, shoppers at Things Remembered are buying gifts.
The terror attacks didn't affect whether shoppers buy, but what they buy, Dellavalle said. Sales at her store would have been just as strong had the attacks not occurred, she added, but people would buy "more traditional gifts -- clocks and pen sets -- rather than the patriotic keepsakes."
kubik@vindy.com