Missouri River Relief gets boost in CoMoGives Campaign from Santa and Mrs. Claus

A couple of special visitors were seen Saturday at Cooper's Landing — Santa and Mrs. Claus.

They were there to not only greet guests but teach them how to be stewards of the Missouri River.

But it wasn't the real Santa and Mrs. Claus. They're still at the North Pole preparing for Christmas. It was two of Santa and Mrs. Claus' many helpers — Barney and Eileen Combs.

"We have been busy getting things ready and it is quite an undertaking," Barney Combs said this week.

The couple moved to Columbia a few years ago to be closer to family and are volunteers with Missouri River Relief.

They held the peer-to-peer fundraiser for the nonprofit Saturday with a goal to raise $5,000, as part of the CoMoGives campaign going on through the rest of this month.

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Depending on how this fundraiser goes for Missouri River Relief, it could be a lot of fun to do it next year, Combs said.

The Combses do quite a bit for Missouri River Relief, said Lisa Cole, development manager. Cole's role is to work with individuals, groups and businesses who want to support the work of Missouri River Relief.

The Santa at the River idea the Combses had was fabulous, Cole said, adding they have "astounding involvement" with the nonprofit.

To have a family and youth-focused event is important to the mission of Missouri River Relief, Cole said.

"It inspires (youth) to want to take care of the river. It is really valuable to have family opportunities," she said.

Something new for Missouri River Relief

The Santa at the River event is something new for Barney Combs and Missouri River Relief. He has portrayed Santa Claus before, but not for the nonprofit.

"I believe it was 2019, they had a thing called Cookies with Santa with (Columbia Parks and Recreation)," Combs said. "My wife and I thought it was so cool to have all these children come up wide-eyed and seeing Santa Claus."

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That event was canceled the last couple of years because of the COVD-19 pandemic. So the couple wanted to create an event by connecting the Missouri River and Santa Claus.

"We thought that would be a great thing. It is outdoors and outdoors seems to be a fairly safe place," Combs said this week. "It just seemed like a good chance to get people out to (Cooper's Landing) to see the river and also to see Santa Claus."

The event took place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Combses took donations from guests to be able to see and take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. There also was an informational booth about Missouri River Relief.

"Some of the trash we have taken out will be there, so they can see some of the oddities we have removed from the river and how it got there," Combs said this week. "... I think if people see what the river is like and see the amount of plastic pollution, they would think twice about what we need to be doing as a nation to be handling pollution.

"It's really quite amazing when you see how much trash there really is and that is where we get our drinking water from."

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Children attending could create holiday cards, and if they chose, could leave them to be distributed at assisted living and nursing facilities for older residents who may not receive cards at the holidays, Combs said.

"We hope it (was) a real festive event that people could see Santa and, as a backdrop, could see the Missouri River and how beautiful it is to see it up close and personal," he said.

Cookies and hot chocolate were served, along with allergy-friendly options.

Getting connected to Missouri River Relief

When Barney and Eileen Combs moved to Columbia a few years ago, they were looking for volunteer opportunities, Barney Combs said. Their son, Dave, directed them toward Missouri River Relief.

Barney Combs is a longtime volunteer. He had lived in St. Louis before moving to Columbia. When in the St. Louis area, he was a historical interpreter portraying Daniel Boone at the home in Defiance.

"I knew something about the river and I knew how Daniel Boone was connected to the river, but for most people like myself seeing the river was probably from a bridge, driving over it in a car," he said.

More: Missouri River Relief goes virtual with annual fourth-grade field trips

Once involved with Missouri River Relief, he saw how much of a resource it is for the state and the country. The river is an important environmental cause to help preserve because so many people rely on it for drinking water, he said.

"We are crew members for Missouri River Relief," Combs said. "We have been involved in cleanups. We really like Missouri River Days, which (the nonprofit) has not had the past couple of years because of COVID."

The organization still has been able to hold a variety of events, both virtual and in-person.

The Missouri River Days is a field trip for Columbia fourth-graders to visit the river, Combs said. A virtual version was developed for last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a YouTube video and teacher guide.

"They (would) get a boat ride and an expert on the river to explain how it operates. It's basically sand dunes that shift all over the place," Combs said.

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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Santa and Mrs. Claus help raise funds for Missouri River Relief