News 12 at 6 O'Clock, December 7, 2009

AUGUSTA -- The Augusta Urban Ministries warehouse isn't Santa's workshop. But more than 1,600 kids may not know the difference or even care. 400 bikes and 4,000 other gifts are all set to go out to low-income families.

"Helping people that have nothing and them appreciating getting it," said AUM Director Rick Herring.

That process is made easier by the United Way of the CSRA. The Christmas Clearinghouse lists more than 12,000 people across 12 counties who are in need.

"We are finding that families, this year especially, are searching where they can get assistance to assure that their family does get a good Christmas," United Way's Brooke Howell said.

But not a free one if they don't need it. Each agency sets income limits for the families that can get help. The clearinghouse also keeps records of families, assuring no family can get help from more than one place. That's something Rick can sure use.

"If we had not had the clearinghouse, we would not have made the effort to try to verify that every family's coming one time," Herring said.

But the troubling sign is the amount of families in that database has risen. 211's call volume has nearly doubled in two years. Some of the people looking for help used to be helpers themselves.

"They were probably contributing to charities this time last year, and this year they're put in the position of having to ask for help," 211's Nancy Szocinski said. "Maybe for the first time in their lives."

If you need Christmas assistance, contact 211. But time is running out, so hurry. If you want to volunteer for help, you can also call 211.