Clayton County kids receive clothing, gifts thanks to Allen Real Estate
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Sixteen Clayton County kids had a brighter Christmas thanks to clothing and gifts donated by Allen Real Estate Company, LLC.
2022 marked the ninth year the company has supported area children in need.
According to broker Nathan Trappe, his family’s involvement began through Faith Lutheran Church in Monona, which donated to several families at MFL MarMac. He and wife Missy volunteered to shop and chipped in their own support to assure the families were fully covered.
“The church still donates every year, but we wanted to expand and do more than that,” Trappe said. “Since we now have offices in Strawberry Point and Guttenberg [in addition to Monona], we didn’t want to limit ourselves to MFL MarMac. Now, we do all five school districts in Clayton County. We’ve been doing that for three to four years.”
Each school selects the families and children in need. The focus is on elementary-age children, but Trappe said a family’s older kids are not excluded.
“We don’t know their names, just their age, gender, what they need for clothes and what they’d like for toys,” he explained.
Trappe estimated it took his wife Missy three to six weeks to shop and then organize the purchases, which total between $10,000 and $12,000.
Each of the 16 kids received a week’s worth of clothing, socks and pajamas as well as a few items off their wish lists. That included games, trucks, tractors, Barbie dream houses, craft supplies and dolls. One family was also supplied with all-new tennis shoes.
The items are dropped at the schools, who distribute them to the families.
“It’s humbling to be able to help someone you don’t know. I can only imagine the looks on their faces,” Trappe said. “The Clayton Ridge family didn’t even know they were getting the gifts. It was a surprise.”
What made it even more special this year was that, for the first time, the Trappe kids helped shop and pick out items.
“It’s a great benefit, to let them know not everyone is as fortunate and that they can help other kids out,” Trappe said.
Trappe stressed giving back wouldn’t be possible without the community support for Allen Real Estate.
“That’s where the money comes from—from the communities. We hope people say, ‘Hey, we’ll use them because they give back to the community,” he said. “We’re also very supportive of the fair and the youth, as one of the largest buyers at the livestock auction. We hope others see that and do the same in some capacity.”
The goal is simply to help where they can.
“Hopefully this makes Christmas better for them,” Trappe said. “And we hope it’s something we can continue to do.”