Christmas came early for Powell River Christmas Cheer Committee this year.
Every year, committee organizers worry that donations won’t cover buying enough food for their Christmas hampers. This year was looking like it was shaping up the same way.
“We always get nervous around this time that there won’t be enough donations to cover our operating expenses,” said Sandy Carmen, committee president. “If we don’t get enough money donated we might not be able to do that many hampers.”
Then they received a cheque for $5,000 from Walmart Powell River and some of that holiday anxiety disappeared.
Lora Lee Lazowski is store manager at Walmart. She said they were happy to help such a worthy cause. In addition to asking for donations from customers they also held bake sales
and sold soup to raise money.
“We raised $3,000 and Walmart made a matching grant of $2,000,” said Lazowski. “But the associates didn’t feel like they had done enough, so they are also sponsoring a family as well through an Adopt-a-Family hamper.”
Christmas Cheer has been putting together holiday hampers since the late 1940s and in recent years the number of hampers given out has risen. In 2011 the committee put together 328 hampers. This is a slight increase over the previous year of 304. Carmen said that overall hamper distribution from organizations in the community last year was 592. “A rather large number considering the size of the community,” she said.
The hampers go to families, couples or single adults who are living on social services or disability and need a helping hand to make ends meet. Into the hampers goes food for the families and toys for the children, all either purchased by the committee or received by donation.
Players from the Powell River Kings stepped up to spread their own Christmas cheer on November 29. After their morning practice, seven players from the Kings dropped by to help unpack canned food for assembling hampers and move heavy boxes.
“It really saves us,” said Carmen.
Matt Joyaux, who is new to the Kings this season, was busy stacking boxes with his teammates. “It’s nice to get out and help the community,” he said.
Donations allow the committee to purchase bulk grocery items to put in the hamper. There are different sized hampers depending on the size of the family they go to, but all contain basic food items such as milk, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta, rice, coffee, tea, cake mix and many other items. They need about $20,000 in donations to cover buying food on sale throughout the year.
Carmen said despite receiving Walmart’s donation, they still need people to donate toys.
“Usually by this time we have buggies full of toys, but right now we have only one,” said Carmen.
Toys can be purchased and donated directly at Walmart and LW, formerly Liquidation World. There is a Christmas tree with tags on it at each store with a child’s age on it.
Applications to receive hampers are available at Black Point Store, Lang Bay Store, Powell River Town Centre Mall office, Powell River Community Resource Centre and the Salvation Army. The deadline for applications is Saturday, December 8.
Any donations can be mailed by cheque to Cherrie Hunter at 7318 Glacier Street, Powell River, V8A 5V2. Businesses, organizations and individuals interested in participating in the Adopt-A-Family program can contact Carmen at 604.485.2142 or Lesley Ford at 604.485.6682. Toy donations can be arranged with Marilyn Lewis at 604.485.2621.
