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Christmas in Her Heart: Bogan delivers boxes of snacks, supplies to homeless shelter for 13th year

By Evan Bevins 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Over the years, Skylar Bogan has often remarked that it isn't really Christmas for her until she completes the annual delivery of shoeboxes filled with snacks and supplies to the House to Home day shelter.

This year, it certainly felt that way as icy conditions prevented her from fulfilling the holiday tradition she started when she was just 10 years old until Monday, the day after Christmas.

"It feels really weird," said Bogan after she, her boyfriend Shayne Miller and her mother Amber Holbert arrived at the Eighth Street, Parkersburg, shelter Monday with 100 shoeboxes. "We always just deliver the boxes and then we could go do everything else."

They had the shoeboxes organized and the contents spread out on her mom's dining room table Thursday night, ready to pack them assembly-line style. But extreme cold, snow and ice coating the roads made Friday's planned delivery unsafe and impractical.

"We were totally prepared and then, bam," Bogan said. "I just felt bad looking at them at my mom's house" and knowing people could use the items.

Bogan, who now lives in Vienna, began collecting and bringing supplies to the shelter serving the homeless and economically disadvantaged when she was a kid in Wirt County after seeing tents set up beneath the Fifth Street Bridge. She continued through high school and college. Now working as a substance use prevention case manager for Westbrook Health Services, Bogan hopes to turn her effort into a nonprofit organization to leverage assistance from other groups.

She also gives softball lessons to kids around the age she was when she started her effort and talks to them about what she does. A couple of them were going to help her deliver Friday but were out of town Monday and are looking forward to next year.

The delivery date wasn't all that changed this year, as Bogan and her mother had to contend with rising prices and supply chain issues to fill the boxes.

"Inflation hit us a little hard," she said, noting even some discount stores have had to raise their prices.

A particular challenge was finding gloves and toboggans. With time running out, they'd only gotten 14 of the warm hats at their usual price and didn't check those off their list until Rural King gave Holbert a "big discount."

"And my mom just started crying," Bogan said.

While she said none of the boxes contained anything "super extravagant," they each were stuffed with gloves, a hat, an Uncrustable peanut butter and jelly sandwich, hand warmers, chips, crackers, cookies, a sports drink, toothpaste, candy, chapstick, deodorant and a toothbrush.

Bogan and her family packed the boxes on Sunday and delivered them Monday to the shelter, its grateful staff and board and several enthusiastic clients.

"It's awesome," said Cory Patterson, one of the clients.

House to Home Director Sarah Towner said the supplies are needed and Bogan's annual visit is anticipated by clients.

"They start asking at Thanksgiving, 'She's going to do it again, right?'" Towner said. "Some of them, it's the only gift they get at all."

Over the last 13 years, Bogan has filled and delivered about 1,800 shoeboxes to the shelter.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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