The Morden Christmas Cheer Board received a significant financial boost recently from a local business.
As the Morden Thunder hockey team faced off last Monday (Dec. 8) against the Guns ‘N Hoses team of Morden police and firefighters, Elite Crushing presented a $10,000 donation to support the campaign.
“We challenged businesses and the people of Morden to donate to Morden Christmas Cheer, and we offered to match all donations up to $10,000 last week. They hit the $10,000, so we donated the full amount,” said Levi Wiens.
He was glad to be able to make the donation for something that is so worthwhile and makes a difference for so many families in Morden.
“It’s a good cause, and we’re happy to see how much the community supported it,” said Wiens. “We’re happy to do it.”
Cheer board representative Sandi Buhr said the support was very much appreciated.
“It’s very special. This time of year we need every donation we can get, and Elite Crushing really helped us,” she said.
It was especially helpful as the cheer board found itself in a tough financial position after having ended up in a deficit last year.
The non-profit packed and delivered 384 hampers in 2024 and is projecting to be at over 400 this year, but it was already having a hard time keeping up with the rising costs and demand last year. Donations were significantly lower than in other years, and that coupled with higher expenses caused them to use up most of their surplus.
As a result, the board made the decision to reduce the value of the hampers by 25 per cent this year to ensure they could cover costs.
“We are definitely in need of the support, and the community is coming out and doing a really good job raising funds and donating toys and non-perishable food. We’re very grateful,” said Buhr.
She added they were grateful as well for the support shown at the Morden Thunder Christmas Cheer game, which raised over $5,200 along with a full truck of food and an SUV full of toys.
“There’s always a big turnout. Lots of people come and bring lots of toys, food and it’s just a good time.”
Morden Christmas Cheer delivers its hampers this week.
