COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The holidays will be tough on a lot of families this year.
Many parents just won't be able to afford a lot of gifts for their children.
But the organizers behind one local project hope to help out those families, providing homemade Christmas stockings brimming with toys, clothes and love.
Christmas Stockings for Kids was started 13 years ago by a small group of women.
Back then, they filled 45 stockings for less fortunate kids.
Last Christmas, they filled 345 for children of low-income working families who attend Child Nursery Centers.
They hope to do the same this year, even though times are tough for most families.
"Everybody calls and says the economy is affecting us, but if it's affecting us, it's really affecting them, and the response has been amazing, said organizer Denise Oldach.
The children who receive the stockings are chosen by need.
Organizers get a list of all the children at the centers.
They start with the kids most in need and work their way down the list.
Every child in that family is made a stocking, then the parents are surprised with the gifts.
"These people are working, but there's no money leftover for Christmas. This is the only Christmas some of them will have," says Jessie Latham.
Latham says it's an unforgettable experience for families on the giving end of the project, too.
They all get together to fill the stockings and the kids learn how fortunate they are.
"I think it opens their eyes. I've had some parents tell us our kids had no idea that some kids didn't get everything they wanted for Christmas," she says.
Several local businesses and community groups have donated money or gifts for the project.
If you'd like to help, e-mail the group at stockingsforkids@gmail.com.
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