The holiday season shined bright Wednesday evening at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

Panhandle Kiwanis Club hosted its annual holiday celebration at the church, a party for nine families being served by Family Promise, a program that gives struggling families a safe place to get back on their feet.

The 30 people from the Family Promise families were greeted at the door by members of the Coeur d’Alene High School Key Club, a student service organization that is part of Kiwanis International. The students, dressed as elves, entertained the children with crafts. Panhandle Kiwanian John Beebe volunteered his time as karaoke DJ, and everyone mingled until dinner was served.

Panhandle Kiwanis members provided a turkey dinner with all the sides, and then Santa and his elves passed out stockings and hundreds of gifts.

Using wish lists from the families, Kiwanis members spent several weeks purchasing the gifts and stocking items.

“We know that the holidays can be expensive and we just want to lighten the burden for these families,” the group said, in a press release. “We work really hard to provide what the family needs and always make sure to add something the kids want. Our No. 1 goal is to see each kid leave happy, and make the holidays a little less stressful for all the families involved.”

Some of the proceeds from Panhandle Kiwanis’ annual Taste of Coeur d’Alene Beer Garden funds the holiday project.

And they don’t stop helping when the celebration ends. Club members said that when they meet the wonderful families and learn of their needs, they want to help more.

A family from the club’s holiday celebration last year contacted the club for help with school clothing. The club decided it could do more and “adopted” the child for the year, making sure he had everything he neeed: clothes, shoes, football cleats, back-to-school supplies and a backpack.

“This is just one of many ways we are trying to help our community one person at a time,” the club said.

To find out more about Panhandle Kiwanis or to get involved in serving the community, contact the group through its Facebook page, Idaho Panhandle Kiwanis Club, or visit www.panhandlekiwanis.org.