Lions help out Holiday House

Last week, the Coupeville Lions Club donated $8,000 to Holiday House North.

By Allyson Ballard • November 28, 2025 1:30 am

A gift-giving group received a gift of its own recently.

Last week, the Coupeville Lions Club donated $8,000 to Holiday House North, an organization supplying North and Central Whidbey families experiencing financial hardship with gifts to keep the holiday season merry.

With the support of private donations as well as its partnership with Toys for Tots, the Holiday House began distributing gifts to those in need 23 years ago. The organization served more than 1,200 children last year and Mary Heck, a former teacher and one of the Holiday House’s many volunteers, expects that number to jump to at least 1,400. Each kid receives four gifts, she added, meaning upwards of 5,000 will be disbursed.

As the organization is currently working towards becoming a nonprofit, it previously relied on another nonprofit based in Oak Harbor to hold its funds so donors could earn a tax reduction.

Cindy Van Dyk, one of the Lions responsible for orchestrating her club’s donation, said she learned in October that two members of the nonprofit “absconded with all the funds … including the cash reserve belonging to the Holiday House.” Dyk, a Lion since 1998, approached her club for help.

“Since it is not the norm for the club to grant such a large amount to one organization, I’m really, really proud to say that the Coupeville Lions saw the need and literally came to the rescue,” she said.

With the donation, the Holiday House can keep its promise to families and their kids on Whidbey Island.

“These families just need to know somebody cares and is there for them, and a lot of times that’s what we do,” she said.

Any family is eligible to receive gifts so long as they sign up at holidayhousenorth.com. Gift collection is scheduled sometime from Dec. 6-20. Donations can also be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Oak Harbor School District Office, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day at Tyee Restaurant in Coupeville.

Donations can also be made through the Holiday House’s GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/f/save-christmas-for-local-children.