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More than 50 helpers gathered around Rick Sandquist at the Share What You Wear event Saturday morning to hear what the Iowa Central Community College activities director had to say.

"Be helpful," he said, plus a lot of other helpful hints.

Those who had helped in the past five years nodded and smiled; those without past knowledge glanced toward the door where people waited.

"Two minutes," Sandquist said. "Everything looks nice now, but keep it in order. Fold clothes."

Finally 9 a.m. came, the doors opened and a mass of humanity spilled into the Career Education Building. Boxes laid out were snapped up. Bags were pulled from pockets and purses, some small, some the large black garbage bags. And still the people poured in.

Nine-year-old T.J. Williams was first through the door. He ran directly to the toys; he wanted a bicycle.

"I had a bicycle before," the young man said. "It got stolen."

T.J. asked a worker if he could put his bicycle behind a table so he could go look for his mother. He found his brother, instead. Dan Williams, 25, has recently moved into his own place and needed kitchen wares. His bag contained some clothing, too.

This is the third year the Williamses have shopped during Share What You Wear, started in 2004 as a service project sponsored by the Iowa Central Student Senate and Phi Theta Kappa. It has since grown to include the entire campus.

"There's a lot of needy people out there," Sandquist said. "Some people don't have a Christmas. They don't have anything to give anyone."

People came to the Share What You Wear event in wheelchairs, with walkers and canes. They were young and no-longer-young. Some wore heavy, winter coats; others had only sweatshirts against the 25-degree weather.

Outside upward of 200 cars overflowed the parking lots.

Every person who entered the doors was allowed into the new gift area to choose one gift, whether for himself or as a gift for someone else, Sandquist said. "Everyone should have something to open at Christmas time."

The new gift area, headed by Kris Nerem-Lowery and Jenny Williams, was filled with toys and adult items such as perfume and knickknacks. The committee collected $4,000 from faculty and staff for the program to shop for these gifts, which then were taken to another area where they were gift wrapped.

And still the people came.

The men's clothing area just inside the doors filled rapidly. A line to the new gifts grew even more rapidly. Tables and tables of clothing flew through the air, some landing in boxes, some thrown over shoulders.

"We're not here to judge them," Sandquist said. "If they have a need, we're here to help them."

Stephanie Fritz and Victor Rubio, both of Chile, South America, volunteered to help.

"People were doing these things in Chile," Fritz said, especially during the winter heavy rains, but I've never taken part in it."

Since both spoke Spanish, they volunteered to translate, if necessary.

Judy Williams, T.J. and Dan's mother, spent a lot of time looking for clothes.

"Money's tight at the moment," she said. "Someone stole my winter coat. We have nothing to T.J. for Christmas, so we came here. He's only 9; he doesn't understand."

Elsewhere, Michelle Pliner, of Blairsburg, looked through books for her children. She'd already picked up a few other things, but wanted to make sure she got the perfect books for her children, especially 2-year-old William, who loves books.

Standing in the new gift line, Cynthia Echelberger, 8, could barely stand still.

"I made them come," she said. "I got some Legos and a puzzle."

Those were being protected by her father, Joe, who sat waiting. She didn't know, she added, if she would get something for herself in the new gift area or something as a gift for a cousin. But she had plenty of time to decide - the line stretched halfway across the room.

Minding the doors and helping people load their cars, Richard Koepplin said he's been part of the Share What You Wear since the beginning because his wife Carol worked at the college before retirement.

"This gets bigger every year," he said. "It's a good thing."

Even as people left the west side of the building, more entered from the east doors, looking for a treasure someone had shared.

Contact Sandy Mickelson at (515) 573-2141 or smickelson@messengernews.net