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Local woman finds peace helping others, seeks help to fill Christmas boxes

by RACHEL SUN
Staff Writer | December 16, 2020 1:00 AM

It was the love for her son that helped Christine Curless turn her family’s tragedy into a gift for others seven years ago.

In 2012, Curless’s son Christopher Cooper landed in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after an altercation left him unconscious with severe head injures that would later kill him. On that day in late November, the family found themselves waiting for results at the hospital.

Staff served her and her daughters a dinner of sandwiches and chips, Curless said, which she was grateful for. Still, it was a painful experience to go through.

“I bless them for doing that, but it was very heartbreaking,” she said.

Thanksgiving had always been her son’s favorite holiday, Curless said, but that year the family did not celebrate. It was the next year, in 2013, that Curless decided she wanted to help other families who were going through a hard time.

“My girls and I decided we didn’t want anyone to have that feeling,” she said. “We wanted to help a family each Thanksgiving.”

With that, an annual tradition was born. Every year, for the past seven years, Curless and her daughters have put together Thanksgiving boxes for families.

Usually, it was just one family, but some years it was a few. Curless would post to Facebook looking for people who needed some help. Then, she would put together a box with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and all the traditional fixings.

For a long time it was a small operation, she said, but this year it grew. After Curless posted about looking for families in need on the Sandpoint Local Forum Facebook group, Penny Barton, a longtime resident, reached out.

Barton helped spread the word over Facebook and email, and more people began reaching out both to help and to ask if they could get a box.

The two had never met before, but they started working together to help local families. Barton came over and helped pack boxes, and the two filled around seven boxes that day.

Some families only wanted turkey and stuffing, or a ham. Some wanted a whole meal. In total, Curless and Barton helped 23 families.

“It was just so unbelievable,” she said.

Although there are agencies that help families with holiday dinners, Curless said she wanted to also provide for people who might not be able to get to a food bank or qualify for food stamps.

“It gives me a sense of peace with the holiday. A sense of balance,” she said.

The boxes also help give her and her family purpose, Curless said.

“It fills [my daughters’] heart, it fills my heart,” she said.

Robb Knapstad, a Sandpoint resident who reached out to Curless on behalf of his neighbor’s family this year, said Curless goes above and beyond.

His neighbor had recently passed away, he said, and the family was staying at the house together, not planning for Thanksgiving.

“She asked about allergies, about things I didn’t even think of,” he said. “it was fruits, it was vegetables, it was everything they needed.”

Pamela Sue Simone, who had reached out on behalf of a young man who helped her three years ago, said she believes Curless’s love for her son drives her to show love to others.

This year, Simone will be helping Curless deliver Christmas boxes, she said.

“She’s always thinking about others,” she said. “I think it’s really neat that’s she’s doing all this extra work.”

Juanita Miller one of the recipients this year, said she moved to the area with her 17-year-old daughter, Autumn Wilder, this spring. The two were invited to a friend’s for Thanksgiving, but decided they wanted to spend their first big holiday at home.

She said she hopes to pay it forward in the future. Miller would have managed without the Thanksgiving box, she said, but she didn’t have that much food before receiving it.

“It’s just nice to know the Sandpoint community is able to help people in need,” she said. “It’s a blessing. I’ve never had anybody help me out like that.”

Stephanie Crump, another resident, said Curless has helped her family a few times.

This year, Crump also had the chance to give back, she said. The family ended up receiving a tablet they don’t need, and are working with Curless to find a recipient for Christmas.

Curless has never done Christmas boxes until this year, she said, but she was asked if she could and said she couldn’t say no. She was especially moved, she said, by the children of families and hearing about what they were hoping to get for Christmas.

“I do have a little boy that wants snow boots,” she said. “That was what he wanted for Christmas, was snow boots … what kindergartener asks for snow boots?”

Other requests included things like clothing, hairbands, Legos and Nintendo games.

Many of the children she heard about are young, Curless said, and she wanted to help make their Christmas special with “presents from Santa.”

“Most of the kids are 11 and under, so they still believe in the magic,” she said.

Items requested include:

• 14 year old — shoe size, 11 1/2 to 12 (men's); clothes, mens medium to large shirts, pants 29 waist, 36 length; wish, Harry Potter Legos or Dodge Challenger remote control car.

• 11 year old — shoes, mens 7; clothes, 12/14; wish, Bakugan toys or Fantastic Beast Legos.

• 6 year old — shoes, 12 kids; clothes, 6/7; wish, tablet, anything Super Mario or Sponge Bob.

• Male, age 5 — likes Squirtle from Pokemon; clothes, 5T.

• Female, age 4 — clothes, size 6T, needs pajamas; likes Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig.

Male, age 3 — likes Ryan's Mystery Playdate; clothes, size 4T.

• Female, 17 — clothes, hoodie sweater (medium), medium long-sleeve winter shirts, thick winter women's socks; arts and craft items, pajamas, anything Seahawks.

• Male, 11 — anything Pokemon or Goku, Pokemon plush pillow and blanket set.

• Male, 10 (almost 11) — size 12 pants (no jeans, elastic waist best), large size boys shirts, shoes 5/6.

• Female, 5 — size 5/6 clothes, size 11/12 shoes; loves hair stuff, clips and headband bows; Rainbocorns Sweet Shake Surprise.

• Male, 8 — anything Star Wars, blanket and pillow set.

Anyone who wishes to donate can start dropping off non-perishable food items this week and leave them at the doorstep at 301 Spokane Street in Kootenai, next to the elementary school. Curless asks that any perishable items only be donated between Dec. 19 and 21. She is also shopping for children’s Christmas presents, and welcomes donations. She can also be contacted on Facebook, or at chriscoopersmom@gmail.com.