Knoxville — This past Monday, Dec. 21, was the third Monday of the month. Not such a big deal, other than that it is the start of the week of Christmas and most people have their minds on the shortened work week and the impending excitement of sharing the holiday with their families and friends.

I was invited by Chuck Galeazzi to visit Helping Hands to watch the bi-monthly food distribution and, possibly, share what I saw. So I went, and I watched, and I’m sharing.

First of all, I should report that I am in my second half-century of living and I believe in Santa Claus. Always have, always will. He is real and he walks among us every day of the year. Monday, Santa Claus was not wearing his notorious red suit and sporting a wavy white beard.

On Monday, Santa was dressed in blue jeans, a T-shirt and a ball cap. I also spotted her in a holiday sweatshirt and elastic waist pants. I saw him in a camouflage jacket and cap. In fact, I saw about 50 Santas today – men and women – of all shapes, sizes, and walks of life.

It was educational. It was inspirational. It was humbling. And it happened right here in Knoxville.

I walked into the recently-acquired Helping Hands building just after 11 in the morning. There were racks of clothing and rows of tables filled with clothing and other items running the length of the building. There was also a line of people that had begun to form for the groceries that were being given away.

The supervisors (my name for them) were sitting at a table between the merchandise floor and the back room packing operation. Chuck Wooldridge, Lyle James and Marv Van Haaften were my “tour guides” for the experience. What a crew! And what an education!

Typically the distribution is done on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. Because of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, the schedule for December was rearranged to the first and third Mondays.

The day began with Chuck Wooldridge, Pastor Bob Smith and Myles Murphy heading into Des Moines to purchase and pick up the food items to be distributed. Brad Crossett from True Value Hardware graciously donates the use of their truck for the food runs.

The load on Monday was eight tons (yes, 16,000 pounds!) of food to be bagged and distributed. The Des Moines facility sells food at 14 cents a pound which, according to my calculations, cost Helping Hands $2,240.

Upon arrival at Helping Hands, other volunteers (including Lyle and Marv) went to work unloading all that food. Meanwhile, volunteers inside the building were preparing plastic sacks, helping with the unloading, counting, and determining how the distribution would break down.

Ted Eller, who has been a volunteer at Helping Hands for over 10 years, told me that all the food is inventoried and a determination is made as to the number of sacks they think they will need for the day. Then the inventory is split to ensure that all the bags get a good assortment of non-perishable staples such as pasta, juice, canned vegetables and fruit, and a loaf of bread. Sometimes there’s a package of cookies or some other sweet for a special treat.

Depending on family size, all the people receiving the food baskets get at least one sack of non-perishable food items and one sack of perishables. Monday’s perishables included frozen ground deer meat and potatoes. (There might have been other items in the bag, but I didn’t see all of them.) My tour guide, Chuck, told me that deer licenses have a $1 surcharge to help defray the expense of processing deer meat, so people who have killed a deer that they don’t want can take it to the locker to have it processed and donated to local food pantries.

I saw three freezers in the back room that were filled to the top with deer meat at the start of the distribution. In about a half-hour, the assembly line had gone through one full freezer and had made a good start on another.

Helping Hands is a 100 percent volunteer organization. Organizations and churches throughout the community offer volunteers for the food distribution days. Monday’s group from Celebrate Church was pretty impressive.

They came in large numbers, they worked quickly and efficiently, and they had the job done in no time! Additional volunteers Pat Finan, Laura Hollinrake, and Ted Eller come on a regular basis.

Murphy is one of the regulars who delivers to the county. He usually takes two loads on distribution day, helping about 50 families in Melcher-Dallas, Harvey, Tracy and throughout the county.

Others come on a drop-in basis. Those who need a hand and those who lend a hand – all are welcome.

Chuck Galeazzi told me they usually serve about 300 people on food distribution day. They expected 350 or so on Monday because holidays usually bring more people.

Monday was also distribution day for the Holiday Christmas baskets. Organizations and individuals within the community make donations to purchase items for the Christmas baskets and families sign up for the limited number available.

With all the regular volunteers at Helping Hands, it is still interesting to me that the coordination of so many other volunteers seems to take place without much of a guiding hand. Everybody comes in ready to work and the whole process goes off like clockwork.

The main floor of the building has been transformed into a well-organized distribution center. Plans for the second floor include the construction of 10 apartments. The apartments are not yet ready, but will serve people who are having a run of bad luck and just need a helping hand. Tour guide Chuck showed me a room in the front section of the building that houses donated medical equipment. The VA is donating several items for that room as well, giving Helping Hands a helping hand in the “non-foods” department.

Helping Hands is the brainchild of Pastor Bob Smith, who has been actively involved as a volunteer since 1984 and is presently the CEO.

It is staffed throughout the week by volunteers and Brian Goemaat is there most days, including distribution days.

Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and nobody is turned away.

I learned as a child that you can never give away a kindness because it always comes back to you many times over. I believe that, just as I believe there is a Santa Claus who is the embodiment of the spirit of giving that this season is all about.

Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus. I’m happy to report he is alive and well in Knoxville!