One of Santa’s most dedicated helpers lives in Kalispell on Third Avenue East.

Shannon Fraleigh recently set up a “Blessings Box” outside her home, where anyone in need of Christmas presents can find toys, clothes and other donated items in tip-top shape.

Fraleigh said it was her “Christmas wish” to establish a system to connect different members of the community with a way to meet everyone’s needs during a difficult holiday season. The Blessings Box quickly took off, and Fraleigh and her friend Kathleen Francis are already looking to expand with more Blessings Boxes around the valley.

“It’s really a blessing for everyone,” Fraleigh said. “We just hope it grows and grows.”

The idea for the Blessings Box evolved out of a mini free library Fraleigh set up outside her house two years ago. Since she lives in a school zone with a lot of student traffic, her mini library always has been a hub of activity.

“It was a huge success,” Fraleigh said.

In fact, it became so successful that people started leaving other free items such as backpacks and toys in her box and on the ground around it, once the small box ran out of space. Fraleigh realized she was going to need a bigger box.

She commissioned her father, a retired cabinet maker, to build the Blessings Box out of scrap wood. She hoped to provide a space where people could drop off donations and those in need could find free goods, from food, to clothing, to toys.

Fraleigh thought the box could fill the need she saw for free, high-quality donations. She knew the existing options can’t keep up with the demand, since thrift stores aren’t affordable for every budget, and toy drives such as Toys for Tots require new toys still in the box. She saw the Blessings Box as an alternative that could meet the need.

Fraleigh felt she was the woman for the job, since she’s an expert at thrifting and repurposing used goods — and because she knows firsthand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the donations.

Fraleigh raised four children as a single mother, and she said help from the community made it possible for her to support her family.

“I struggled a lot and I had a lot of people helping me,” Fraleigh recalled. “Now that my kids are grown, I feel like I can give back.”

SHE WANTS to instill that attitude in the community that utilizes the Blessings Box. She tells donation recipients, “When you get back on your feet, you can bring something back.”

And in just a short time, that vision has become a reality.

Fraleigh shared the story of one of the first patrons of the Blessings Box, a single mother who works as a server in a Kalispell restaurant. When her hours were cut in half as a result of the pandemic, the woman turned to the Blessings Box to find a winter coat for her son. While she couldn’t afford to buy a new coat, she nonetheless returned a few days later with her own donations to pass on to the box’s next visitor.

“One person who received, already donated,” said Kathleen Francis, who painted the Blessings Box and runs the Facebook page for the initiative. “She already paid it forward. It’s pretty exciting.”

Farleigh and Francis, friends since going to high school together in Kalispell, are aiming to get even more people around the valley involved in the grassroots effort.

Even though Farleigh’s living room is currently overflowing with donated items, the organizers recognize their limits. “This is just one box in one neighborhood,” Francis pointed out. “It’s not meant to provide for everybody’s needs in the whole valley.”

The women want members of each local community to step up and sponsor their own Blessings Box. Francis has offered to paint the new boxes, and the Blessings Box founders will offer their organizational support to get the project going in other areas.

But they hope each neighborhood will take responsibility for supporting its local members.

“We’re capable of taking care of our own in this valley,” Fraleigh said. “There are so many that have so much extra, and there are those that don’t have enough. We need a way to connect those people.”

The women said local residents can get involved by contacting them through The Blessings Box Facebook page to sponsor a Blessings Box. They hope a hardware store will be able to donate the materials to build more boxes.

To give to the Kalispell box, donors should provide clean items in good condition, inside clear bags so recipients can see exactly what they’re getting. Toys should come with batteries included, and clothing should come with a tag inside the bag indicating the size of the item.

Francis stressed, “donate a blessing, not a burden.”

The Blessings Box is located at 845 Third Ave. E. in Kalispell.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.