By MATTHEW LINDSEY

POTSDAM -- The Potsdam Holiday Fund will once again help hundreds of local families through the Giving Tree Program and Food Basket Program.

This year there are more Giving Tree locations than ever before. The purpose of the Giving Tree is to provide gifts to hundreds of children in St. Lawrence County.

“Last year, we provided gifts to 613 children…we also provided 336 food baskets to families. In total, there were 613 children and 603 adults served the program,” according to Mike Weil.

The Potsdam Holiday Fund (PHF) was founded about 20 years ago and has since evolved into a full 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with bylaws and a board of directors, Weil said.

People wanting to take advantage of the program must apply by Nov. 30.

The fund has two main branches...the Giving Trees and the Food Baskets. The Giving Tree program is a project of the Potsdam Kiwanis Club, while the Food Basket program is a project of the Potsdam Rotary Club.

“The Giving Tree branch collects presents which are sorted and wrapped, and then distributed at the Santa's Workshop. The Food Basket program involves purchasing and distributing a full food basket meal to qualified applicants,” he said.

The holiday fund is not limited to Potsdam residents only.

“Children from birth up through 18 are eligible for gifts, and anyone meeting eligibility criteria is eligible for the food baskets,” he said.

The geographic are served by the Potsdam Holiday Fund includes residents in Potsdam, Madrid, Hopkinton, Nicholville, Brasher Falls, Chase Mills, Fort Jackson, West Stockholm and Winthrop.

“It is equally important to note that other communities, such as Canton, Norwood, Colton, etc. have their own programs. We coordinate client names with them so as to try to not duplicate services,” Weils said.

“We collect two different types of donations...cash and presents. We strive to fulfill the gift needs by gift donations alone. We are tremendously grateful to Ray Cutway, former coordinator and new coordinator Christina Reynolds of the St. Lawrence County Toys For Tots program for their many years of generous support to help us with the toys,” he said.

With the support of toys/gifts from the Toys For Tots program, the fund is able to direct nearly all of the cash contributions towards the purchase of warm clothing for the children and food baskets for the families.

“We also are extremely appreciative of donations of gift cards and gift certificates. Santa sometimes has a very difficult time finding ‘just the right gift’ for some of the children, and the certificates/cards are a great option,” he said.

Nearly all of the money for the fund is raised through direct-mail solicitation mailed to Potsdam residents in October. The fund is also the primary beneficiary of the Hobble-Gobble Prediction Run-Walk, coordinated by Derry Loucks, and held annually in November.

In 2013, the holiday fund raised around $59,000.

Food baskets will be distributed on Dec.17. Gifts will be distributed at the Santa's Workshop Dec. 19 and 20 at the United Methodist Church, 26 Main St.

Applications should be returned by Nov. 30. Applications and income information for this years program can be found online at http://potsdamholidayfund.org/apply.html.

“This has grown each year as we work to reach more people,” Weil said.

The Giving Tree program works by taking one or more tags from a giving tree, purchase a present for the child’s age and sex listed on the tag and then fill out the tag to describe what the present is. Wrap the present and bring it back to the Giving Tree location by Friday, Dec. 12.

Giving Tree Locations in Potsdam include Adirondack FCU, 166 Market St.; Arby’s, 172 Market St.; Barstow Motors, 154 Market St.; Big Lots, 200 Market St.; Canton-Potsdam Hospital, 50 Leroy St.; Clarkson University, Student Center, Clarkson campus; Collegiate Village of Potsdam, 206 Outer Main St.; Community Bank, 70 Market St.; Eben’s Hearth, 115 Maple St.; Evans & White ACE Hardware, 1 Maple St.; First Class Services, 495 West Parishville Rd.; First Niagara Bank, 14 Elm St. and Foxy Roxy’s, 124 Market St.

Other locations include Hair Studio Day Spa, 8 Main St.; Harris Medical, 71 Market St.; Key Bank, 17 Elm St.; Kinney Drugs, 48 Maple St. and 200 Market St.; Market Lanes, 144 Market St.; Mh Studios, 63 Market St.; Misty Hollow, 22 Market St.; NBT Bank, 220 Market St. and North County Savings Bank, 31 Main St.

Other participating businesses are Pizza Hut, 62 Market St.; Plumley Real Estate, 6558 State Highway 56; Ponderosa, 185 Market St.; Potsdam Chamber, 24 Market St.; Potsdam Food Co-op, 24 Elm St.; Potsdam Humane Society, 17 Madrid Ave.; Potsdam IGA, 27 Elm St.; Potsdam Museum, 2 Park St.; Potsdam Specialty Paper, 547 Sissonville Rd.; Potter’s Industry, 72 Reynolds Rd. and Sears, 6586 State Highway 56.

Also participating are Save-A-Lot, 200 Market St.; Dexters Cafe, SUNY Potsdam campus, Thatcher Hall; St. Mary’s Church, 17 Lawrence Ave.; SUNY Potsdam Becky’s Place, Raymond Hall, SUNY Potsdam; SUNY Potsdam Bookstore, Student Union, SUNY Potsdam; The Cornerstore, 75 Market St.; Today’s Hair, 36 Market St.; Total Image, 29 Main St.; Trinity Episcopal Church, 8 Maple St.; United Methodist Church, 26 Main St.; University Bookstore, 39 Market St.; Village Diner, 22 Depot St.; West Stockholm Village Market, 147 County Route 57; Walmart, 7494 U.S. Highway 11; Willow Tree Florist, 7580 U.S. Highway 11; Wireless Zone, 201 Market St. and Jazzercise, 22 Depot St.

Businesses not in Potsdam that are participating include Jake’s on the Water, 5726 State Highway 56, Hannawa Falls; Home Town Café, 3476 County Route 14, Madrid.