There are still more than seven months away from Christmas, but EveryStep’s Amanda the Panda Grief & Loss team has already been planning for the holiday season for weeks. Last year, the team’s Cheer Box program provided a special gift at the start of the season to more than 700 Iowa families who were facing the holidays for the first time after suffering a loss. All families are nominated anonymously throughout the year.
Nearly all of the work – from wrapping thousands of individual gifts to packaging to delivery – is handled by an army of hundreds of volunteers who gather annually to shine a light on the lives where it is needed most. Volunteer opportunities of all kinds are available during the weeklong event, from help setting up and decorating to wrapping and warehousing boxes to tearing down and cleaning up.
And one of the most important jobs of all: delivering the boxes into the arms of families. EveryStep volunteer Zosh Choda says that part of job may be her favorite part of the whole year.
“A friend of mine was involved with Amanda the Panda and I thought it sounded like an interesting experience and a worthwhile one,” she says, “and boy is it!”
Zosh is one of Amanda the Panda’s busiest Cheer Box volunteers, giving her time to deliver a dozen boxes in 2025. “You hear stories and you see people that haven't had a good time of it and it's just a really special time. I always feel great,” she says, “I don't care what the weather is. I would drive to Omaha to deliver those things, I swear!”
Zosh says she gets as much from delivering the Cheer Boxes as those who receive them.
“It is very gratifying to know that you helped somebody in that way. When you go out to deliver, you might go to the poorest home in the neighborhood … or you might go to a very, very, obviously wealthy home,” she says, “But you shouldn’t have any expectations (based on the size of the home) because grief comes in all shapes and sizes.
“The reactions are so diverse … sometimes people just like to talk and want to invite you in for a cup of coffee and that kind of thing. Others are still in the very initial grief stages. The reactions you experience vary widely.
Despite all that she already does for Cheer Box, Zosh says she wishes she could do more – but her SUV is only so big. “It's just something I look forward to every year. It doesn't matter. If I had a truck, I would fill up the truck and do it, you know?”
Nominations for Cheer Box 2026 are now open. All nominations are anonymous. If you’d like to experience the same joy as Zosh and become a Cheer Box delivery person, signups for that will open later this fall.
