For many years I was the chair of a group of people who put together Christmas hampers for low income members of our community. They would contain toys for children, food for a few days to get them through Christmas and additional food for a Christmas dinner.
It was a lot of work every year starting in November and taking up to a day or so before Christmas before the program wrapped up. In November I would meet with the families taking details from them about their situation.
The Toys For Kids
Wish lists were completed for the children in the family. They would be sent to a toy program run from a nearby mall. After the children’s gifts were arranged, they would be assemble and we’d send a bus and a team of volunteers to pick them and they would be placed with the food boxes.
The Food Boxes
We had a basic list of food items that we’d make an appeal to the community for. We’d work with other community groups to make sure each family got a turkey or ham depending on the size of the family and that enough food was on hand to complete the hampers.
We’ve sent out over 100 of them at times in this small community.
Members of the community and other organizations would provide financial donations in addition to the food items.
Special Cases
When I was interviewing families I would often strike up a conversation with them which allowed me to learn of special circumstances going on in their lives. Then I’d let the needs be known while protecting the privacy of the intended recipient.
The generosity of our community never failed to surprise me.
Winter Without Heat
One family I met with was living in a situation where they didn’t have access to power where they lived, yet a near by barn had power. It was a family of 3 including a 10 year old boy. The parents had been out of work for some time and their current living arrangement was what remained between them and homelessness.
I was contacted by a local farm family who knew the owner of the barn and was able to make an arrangement to get a feed of some power from the barn to the home to get them at least some basic amenities for a nominal amount each month.
The same family then worked with some other families and went shopping. They showed up with new blankets, coats, boots, and some special Christmas items to make things a little more pleasant. They had us deliver the gifts with their hamper as they wanted to remain anonymous.
Family of a Fallen Soldier
Another year as I was interviewing one of our local seniors I learned she was the mother of the widow of a fallen Canadian solider. He’d died in Afghanistan in November. The daughter lived in Quebec but was going to be at her mom’s for Christmas.
Within days of me mentioning the situation items started arriving for them. There were homemade baked goods, gift items and special food items including a local person arranging to have a complete Christmas dinner prepared and delivered to them.
Christmas Dinner for Singles
Then there was the year, all the hampers had gone out and a stranger walked in to talk to me as we sat around chatting after the cleanup was done. He had just been to a local restaurant and made arrangements for 30 Christmas Dinners certificates.
He wanted them distributed to seniors and singles. The certificates were good for any time between then and early January. It was a very generous meal each recipient would receive. I went back to my master list and started making phone calls.
I would spend November hearing the struggles fellow community members were going through and then in December I would start to see the generous hearts of so many in our community from the donors to the volunteers who packed and delivered.
The program was a lot of work but for me, Christmas was done when the last hamper went out the door.
Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
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