Winkler Christmas Cheerboard distributes 440 hampers
Hundreds of families will have food on the table and presents under the tree next week thanks to the work of the Winkler and District Christmas Cheerboard.
Photos by Ashleigh Viveiros/Voice
Cheerboard volunteers spent two days last week wrapping presents and pulling together grocery gift cards for the 440 households receiving care hampers this holiday season.
Volunteers took over the Meridian Exhibition Centre early last week to wrap hundreds of children’s presents and pull together the food “hampers”—grocery gift cards to local businesses—for upwards of 440 households in the Winkler area.
“On paper it was 436, but we had a couple extra in the end, so I think that it could be 440 this year,” said president Crystal Rempel, noting that’s up from the 418 distributed last year.
“We’ve had great reports from the drivers, that they were received so well and people were just so grateful,” she shared. “And how a lot of them, this is maybe the first year having a hamper. It’s tougher times for people and so this is a welcome relief, especially during the Christmas season.”
The store vouchers gives families the flexibility to shop for themselves, ensuring they’re getting groceries they truly want and need.
“It’s a dollar amount per each member of the family for Co-op,” Rempel explained, “and then we had various vouchers, like to Spenst Bros. for a pizza, a bag of peanuts from Sunny Day, a loaf of bread from Valley Bakery, and a bag of potatoes from Kroeker Farms.
“And the children age 12 to 18 all got gift cards to either Janzen’s Hobbyland or Canadian Tire, while the younger kids all got a wrapped toy.”
There were also gift bags for expectant mothers full of items for the newest member of their families.
“One woman, she did a whole bunch of sewing for us. There was a table full of newborn toques to toddler to older kids that we could put in the hampers. And some beautiful diaper bags that she sewed … just beautiful.”
The outpouring of community support for the Cheerboard each year is humbling, Rempel said.
“We’re so appreciative for their support of our group and what we’re trying to do. We couldn’t do it without the community rallying around us.”
As of last week, fundraising was at about $87,000 of the campaign’s $150,000 goal. The Cheerboard is making a final awareness-raising push in the weeks before and after Christmas in the hopes of reaching that target.
“We often find we’ll still have some funds trickling in through January,” Rempel said. “We work on faith that we’ll get there, trust that it’ll all come together, and it always does.”
You can make a donation to the Winkler and District Christmas Cheerboard online at winklercheerboard.com.
