Colorado has the fastest growing child poverty level in the country. That's according to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

And with Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas just a few weeks away, local non-profits are now joining forces to spread some holiday cheer to families in need.

It's supposed to be a season of happiness. "We knew in this economic climate that there would be more families and children in need," says Lyn Harwell of the Springs Rescue Mission. Many agencies are seeing more people, children and families needing help than ever before.

"We anticipate serving 13,000 children this year and we do that throughout the entire month of December," says Bob Tretheway of Christmas Unlimited.

So, several non-profits are now collaborating to make sure the holiday season is a happy one for the 22,000 children at, or below, the poverty level in El Paso County.

"It's going to help us, help more people to come to us, as we see our own numbers rise, the stats of people that come to us are 35% over last year,'" says Harwell.

"The strength of that is that we won't duplicate services we will be sharing information and resources and the beginning point for really making sure that the 22,000 we see at or below poverty level are served and helped," says Major Don Gilger of The Salvation Army.

This new Christmas collaboration is a win-win situation.
"We don't want to give the same family 5 baskets and 20 toys. We would like to make sure each family gets the appropriate amount of food and toys," says Major Gilger. "But it's really not about the data, it's about the children, it's about real lives," says Harwell.

If you want to help donate to the Christmas collaboration or just want more information check out you can call 955-0742.