The seniors who live in the 55+ apartment complexes in downtown Winkler gathered at Winkler Heritage Village Monday to fill 400 shoeboxes for children in need around the world.
It was the culmination of months of work, shared Nettie Reddecopp, tenant resource coordinator.
“Today is sort of the final showdown where everyone can help and see what everyone else has made,” she said as a few dozen seniors formed an efficient assembly line to get the boxes filled in record time.
For about a decade now, tenants of the Heritage Village complex, the Buhler Active Living Centre next door, and Crocus Estates across the street have contributed knitted teddy bears, scarves, mittens, and washcloths, homemade purses, wooden toys, and more to the project.
“You name it,” Reddecopp said. “They work on this all throughout the year, and then we also do fundraisers. We bake a bunch of goodies and then people can give us a few dollars, and with that we buy the wool, we buy the supplies, everything we need … we make sure every box gets a toy, gets a toothbrush, socks …”
The campaign fills half of its annual boxes for the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child campaign, which goes out to developing countries all over the world, and half for Faith Mission’s Christmas gift boxes, which are headed to Ukraine.
Photos by Ashleigh Viveiros/Voice
Some participants also knit infant sweaters, hats, and booties, which Faith Mission uses to create care packages for new mothers overseas.
The campaign represents a lot of work, but has become a beloved tradition for this community of seniors.
“They love this. They are so proud” of what they’re able to accomplish together, Reddecopp said, noting the tenants have such a wide range of skills and abilities. “They can contribute in so many ways … maybe they’re isolated, they can’t go anywhere else, but they’re able to make teddy bears, they’re making purses, they’re making any of these needed items.”
Avid knitter Margaret Letkeman has been involved with this campaign since it started, and she loves it.
She shares that she enjoys “the fellowship, making use of the time we have to make stuff … and also knowing we are helping people that are in need.”
Seeing pictures and videos of children receiving the gifts is heartwarming, Letkeman said.
“It’s beautiful the blessings that it can give to people.”
Shirley Driedger spent the year knitting custom teddy bears for the kids.
“This year I couldn’t produce as much because of my hands, but I have made as many as 140 in a year,” she shared. “It feels good to be giving.”
It’s truly a group effort, Driedger said, and it’s always impressive to see all the love and care that go into the hundreds of handcrafted items they’re able to pull together each fall.
“When they said that we were going to do 400 boxes instead of 200 this year, I said how in the world are we going to manage that? But we’re doing fine … ladies were busy sewing up on the sixth floor and the high rise, and everybody was knitting like a house on fire.
“I wish I could be there one day just to see their faces,” she said of the children who benefit from the generosity of their adopted grandparents here in Canada.
With this year’s boxes filled and en route to their recipients, the process will start all over again pretty much right away.
“Some girls have already started planning,” Reddecopp said. “It’s a continuous cycle, all throughout the year.”
If you’d like to make items for next year’s boxes, or make a financial donation towards the campaign, you can connect with Winkler Heritage Village by calling 204-325-1307.
