OSBURN — The Silver Valley takes care of their own, and perhaps there isn’t a better example of this than when the holidays roll around. Several examples of this generosity could be found, making it difficult to keep track of all of them. Now that the dust has really settled on the holiday season though, folks can see just how generous everyone was.

The 2021 Silver Valley Community Christmas Fund, sponsored by the Shoshone News-Press and Dave Smith GMC, had its best year in recent memory, raising $25,037 — $4,000 higher than their goal for the year.

Utilizing $12,475 of the raised money, the Christmas Fund purchased food voucher/certificates that were used at the local grocery stores and provided holiday meals for more than 1,000 people.

What remains of the funds will be donated to the Silver Valley Meals on Wheels program.

Shoshone County Clerk Tamie Lewis-Eberhard, the administrator of the funds, was thrilled at what the extra money allowed for this year.

“We were able to increase the certificate for one person in a family from $25 to $35, plus we added an additional $5 for each family member in the home,” Lewis-Eberhard said. “It truly makes a difference for these folks.”

While every single dollar matters, nearly 60 people and businesses contributed $100 or more to the cause.

Dave Smith especially got in on the holiday spirit this year, doubling down on their willingness to provide meals for locals in need. This included purchasing 500 turkeys, totaling in at almost 10,000 pounds, which were then distributed to various food banks and other charitable organizations throughout the Silver Valley.

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office also got in on some holiday fun and giving through its annual department-wide No-Shave-November competition.

This year, they decided to donate the funds that were brought in to several different organizations such as Silver Valley Meals on Wheels, the Shoshone Medical Center Foundation, as well as the local food banks.