Thanks to some generous people, 80 children who live in the DeKalb area who might not have had a merry Christmas will.

The DeKalb Salvation Army provided Douglas and Lincoln Halls and Grant Towers complex each with 20 names of children whose parents requested help during the holiday season.

Peggy Carey, Salvation Army social worker, said the Salvation Army receives applications every Christmas season from families who fall below the poverty line. If they are financially eligible, their names are given to organizations who come to the Salvation Army requesting names of needy people.

“The whole project with the residence halls at NIU is very worthwhile. They have been doing it for years and each time it gets better,” Carey said.

Each hall that participates asks for donations from its residents and then uses the money for whatever each hall decides. It usually goes for toys, clothes, Christmas stockings and special Christmas dinners.

Once all of the preparations and shopping are finished, each hall selects dates and invites the children to participate in planned events.

Kara Levoy, Lincoln Hall representative, said she has been organizing the event for three years and gets more involved each year.

This Friday, Lincoln is planning games, a special dinner, pinatas and a visit from Santa Claus himself. Levoy said each floor received a name of a child and is responsible for buying a gift usually ranging from $25 to $50.

“These children are different from others. You would expect children to ask for games and toys, not socks and jeans,” Levoy said.

Melissa Dessert, Grant Towers North program and activities adviser, said their children came Tuesday night and it was a total success.

“Some of the children called and said they would not be able to come because they did not have a ride, but we had people from our hall go and pick them up, so it worked out well,” Dessert said.

Sheryl Mullis, area coordinator for Lincoln/Douglas, said a good number of the students do get involved with this program in particular because they see the smiles on the children’s faces.

“I think the most wonderful thing a student can learn while doing this is volunteerism, and hopefully these values are fostered in the students, so they do not lose sight of them later in life,” Mullis said.