Volunteer gift-wrappers gear up for Christmas

Bruce Domer, a gift wrap volunteer for Arc of East Central Iowa, had been waiting 90 minutes on Black Friday for his first customer at the group's booth in Lindale Mall food court.

Jennifer Petersen, another volunteer, took care of the customer. Domer went back to squeezing an exercise ball - good for the bow-tying muscles - while he waited for another.

Waiting is just part of the job during the first part of the season, volunteers say. Holiday gift-wrapping requests always begin slowly on Black Friday and accelerate toward a crescendo of activity the week of Christmas.

Last-minute male shoppers with little time or few gift-wrapping talents descend on the booth during that time. In fact, about 70 percent of the booth's customers are men.

“I always sign up for the last day or two when all of the men come,” said Kris Larson, a longtime Arc board member who has volunteered every year since Arc began its gift-wrapping relationship with Lindale Mall in 2003.

Several hundred people volunteer in the booth, filling every available shift through the Christmas season, Larson said. Wrappers include corporate teams, cheerleading groups, Arc employees and Arc clients.

The booth charges customers a few dollars per gift as a donation to Arc, with the amount depending on the size of the package wrapped. It's become the most lucrative way to raise money for Arc, which also holds garage sales and other fundraising activities.

Many customers initially don't know much about Arc, which provides programs for various age groups of people with mental disabilities.

“It's very fun telling them about the Arc and the services we provide to 800 people with disabilities,” said Larson, a speech pathologist whose autistic son has benefited from Arc services.

Larson sometimes brings her daughter Jamie, who helps her lure people over to the booth.

Diane Drahos of Cedar Rapids said she prefers to come to the booth when she needs some wrapping done, even though she could do it at home.

“Because it's a good cause, I don't mind helping them out,” Drahos said.

Domer, a Rockwell Collins employee from Cedar Rapids, said he's enjoyed working the booth for the last couple of seasons. He particularly likes unusual requests. Sometimes customers ask him to wrap the gift in an inappropriate shape or size of box so that its contents won't be as easily guessed.

Domer has even custom-made boxes for customers who wanted to mail a gift that wouldn't fit into a conventional rectangular box.

“We can wrap pretty much anything,” Domer said.