The recession has taken a toll on many workers.

Saturday, Vektek employees hope to do something to help.

Workers of the company are hosting a garage sale to raise money to be used to adopt families at Christmas. The sale is part of a larger effort started earlier this year.

"When the economy started seeing signs of stress, we saw a lot of our customers laid off or had their hours cut," said Susan Lawhon, one of the workers organizing the sale.

Vektek makes specialized clamping equipment, which is commonly used in the automotive industry. As they saw many people losing their jobs, they realized the need this Christmas would be greater than usual.

"Somebody has to step up to the plate," Ms. Lawhon said.

The garage sale will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Vektek parking lot, 3812 S. Leonard Road. Free hot dogs will be offered at 11 a.m. to the first 100 visitors. All items have been donated by employees and their families.

"We're getting help from families who want to donate," said Ragan Burns, a Vektek employee. "We're hoping we get a lot and are able to raise a lot."

The company, which has 27 employees in St. Joseph, hope to raise $3,000 to $5,000 before Christmas.

Other fundraisers are "Hope in Change," where those with coins left over from the vending machine are urged to put them in a jar.

Employees can pay $1 a day to wear jeans to work, which has been a very successful campaign, Ms. Lawhon said. They've also hosted raffles and may have a Texas Hold 'Em tournament this fall.

"We feel blessed we still have our jobs. We want to make sure nobody has to go without," Ms. Lawhon said.

Susan Mires can be reached

at susanm@npgco.com.