An act of vandalism at a holiday hamper program in Powell River has caused a stir and attracted the attention of provincial media outlets.
Sandra Carmen, president of Powell River and District Christmas Cheer Committee, received a call from Crossroads Village Shopping Centre management Monday, December 9, in the early morning informing her that the glass on the storefront’s doors had been broken overnight.
The hamper program moved into the new location last month, having previously been located in Town Centre Mall.
Carmen said that when she arrived, she found the front door glass had been broken. The damage looked as though a shopping cart had been slammed into the door. Once inside, she checked to see if anything was missing, but determined that whoever broke the glass did not steal anything.
Inside, pallets of food purchased over the year to make up this year’s 280 hampers and a tables full of brand new toys were sitting out and potentially could have been stolen.
“Nothing was taken,” said Carmen. “We’re really thankful about that.”
Later that morning, after plastic had been placed over the doors, a gentleman arrived to make a donation, said Carmen. He asked what happened, so Carmen explained and also told him that the Christmas Cheer Committee hadn’t received as many donations, in smaller denominations, as they usually do and potentially they could be $10,000 short on their fundraising target. After the man left he posted the story to Facebook and it went viral.
Carmen said The Province newspaper and CHEK TV contacted her about the story this week.
Although she is worried about the level of donations the committee is receiving, she said it will not affect this year’s hampers.
“It’s the smaller amount donations that we’re down on,” said Carmen. Given previous years, she estimates approximately $2,000 in donations to come soon. “We just haven’t seen them yet.”
Money donated to the committee is put together and used to purchase food throughout the year and especially at the large case-lot sales at grocery stores held in the fall. The committee needs to collect around $20,000 per year to pay for the following year’s hamper drive.
To help rustle up donations, a fundraising breakfast is being organized at Julies Airport Café from 8:30 to 11:30 am on Saturday, December 14. The public is invited to visit for a bite and deliver a donation and a toy for Christmas Cheer.
