PRINEVILLE, OR -- Hundreds of volunteers are packing food boxes and wrapping gifts for needy families in Crook County. "We provide holiday support to families with children, seniors, and disabled citizens in Crook County, through food boxes and gifts," says Vickie Rhodin, the Co-Coordinator for Holiday Partnership, a competition that started in Crook County among agencies and businesses, to see who can collect the most food.

The program has been around since the 1970s, and serves more than 2,500 households in Crook County. "We have millions of wrappers, or thousands, they come and they wrap, down at the Carey Foster Hall, they wrap all the gifts, and we collect food through boxes and through the challenges, and then we fill the food boxes."

Starting today, there will be collection boxes placed all over Prineville, and Giving Trees, bearing tags with gift requests for under-served children. "We have Giving Trees set up around Prineville, We have Toys for Tots, we're with the Marine Corps League, and we have the boxes around town that you can buy gifts and drop them off, and then we also are partnered with Mid-Oregon Credit Union through Holiday Dough."

Rhodin says everyone is invited to participate, either through donating food or gifts through the donation boxes and the Giving Trees set up around town, or by getting involved in wrapping, sorting, and distribution. "We have boxes out for donations, and we'll be collecting up until we give the things away on the 20th of December."

She says area businesses are getting into the spirit, too, challenging each other to see who can collect the most canned food. They will keep a running tally and announce the winner of the challenge on Distribution Day - the prize is bragging rights.