SPUR, Inc. is ensuring that homeless children and adults throughout the area receive holiday gifts and essential items they need.

“Through this drive, we’ve seen what a tremendous impact very simple things can have on those folks,” said Kim Nothnagel, SPUR’s director of communications and community relations.

The nonprofit serves Swampscott, as well as Beverly, Lynn, Marblehead and Salem. SPUR focuses on mobilizing volunteers while working to destigmatize barriers to accessing support and meeting the tangible needs of people in the area. Other volunteer opportunities include working at the food pantry, tending community gardens and sewing pillowcases, which are later used for the gift bags.

When the Holiday Cheer Drive started about 10 years ago, Chair Suzanne Hale joked that “we would use any space the community would lend us because we didn’t have an office.” At the time, gift items were placed in stockings, but the program has since “graduated” to larger pillowcases.

This year, SPUR received more than 600 wishlists from local children and adults experiencing homelessness. School counselors, social workers, food pantry directors and other social service providers shared the lists with SPUR. Each list includes items the individual wants and needs, as well as something to wear and something to read.

The holiday efforts begin early in the year, however, as volunteers sew pillowcases that will later be filled and distributed.

“It’s really become this whole 360 experience from beginning to end,” Hale said. “It’s really turned into a phenomenal experience all of the way around.”

Brenda Sheridan, a Swampscott resident who volunteers at SPUR, said she already knew how to sew, but that it’s “just so fun to be able to sew with pretty fabrics.”

“I know how important it is for people to have something homemade,” Sheridan said. “I love the packages that we do for people experiencing homelessness.”

When it’s time to then fill the pillow cases, the Holiday Cheer Drive raises both monetary and material donations to fulfill the wishlists.

“Sponsors in the community pick a list,” Nothnagel said. “Big Blue Bargains sponsored 14 wishlists this year, which is amazing. Lots of families and individuals sponsor wishlists too, which is awesome.”

Justina Oliver and Niamh Callahan, of J Barrett and Company, hosted a fundraiser and later volunteered to wrap gifts for some of the bags.

“We wanted to participate and do something fun with the Marblehead Christmas walk, and we wanted to do something that would give back,” Callahan said, adding that the two hosted a photography session that encouraged community members to bring donations to SPUR. “We got some gifts and raised $500 just in one little session.”

Over the past few years, Nothnagel said the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased. As a result, the Holiday Cheer Drive increased the number of adult recipients by more than 50% this year.

The adult wishlists are “super duper function,” Nothnagel said. “This is stuff that Jason needs just to get through the day. Sunglasses, headphones, a phone charger – it is a very simple list but for people experiencing homelessness, this is the kind of stuff that while we might take it for granted, it’s going to be a lifeline to job services. It’s going to be a connection to items they need that might otherwise be financially out of reach. That’s going to help build a bridge to whatever that next chapter is for them.”

For both children and adults, the gifts are wrapped individually at SPUR before being placed into the pillowcases. Hale noted that the “feeling of joy” that comes with unwrapping is an integral part of the holiday experience.

The final delivery of holiday bags will take place on December 18, according to Nothnagel. The items will be distributed through social service providers, preserving recipients’ anonymity.

“It’s very exciting,” Nothnagel said. “But while this ends on the 18th, the need in our community doesn’t. It’s still so important to volunteer and contribute in a way that is meaningful for you and that works for your schedule and your interests in your budget.”