The Morden Christmas Cheer Board is gearing up for another holiday season campaign, but it is starting out this year with the challenge of being short of funds.
Volunteers packed and delivered 384 hampers last year and are projecting to do over 400 this year, but the organization was already having a hard time keeping up with the rising costs and demand last holiday season.
“We have a long ways to go,” said representative Ali Wiens. “Last year, our donations were significantly lower than in other years, and that coupled with higher expenses, we used up most of our surplus, so we’re starting off this year without the little nest egg we usually start with.
“We are a bit concerned. Costs are still rising, and the need is still rising.”
Applications for hampers will soon be available online at mordenchristmascheer.com with a deadline of Dec. 9. They will also be available at the Morden Civic Centre after Remembrance Day.
People who want to help out with hamper packing and delivery mid-December can also go online for more details.
There will be a number of opportunities to support Christmas Cheer in the weeks ahead, including a Morden Thunder fundraising game, a few in-the-works events hosted by Rendezvous, and the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign mid-November.
Cheer board reps will also be on hand at the annual City of Morden tree lighting celebration at the civic centre accepting donations.
You can also watch out for donation boxes around town at various businesses starting around the middle of November, and there are several businesses gearing up to host their own fundraisers to support the campaign. You can keep up to date on it all by following Morden Christmas Cheer on Instagram and Facebook.
Wiens noted they are grateful for the support of businesses like the Stardust Drive-In, which hosted a fundraiser for them this summer, and for the donations that have come in from places like Access Credit Union, United Way Pembina Valley, Morden Area Foundation, and Kroeker Farms.
The hampers include gift cards for Gardenland Co-op and Giant Tiger as well as Pharmasave for things like toiletries. Families with kids or teens receive presents or gift cards for them as well.
“We do gift cards for the food … but we do still collect non-perishable food and divide that among the hampers, and we do still collect new unwrapped toys and new books as well,” said Wiens.
Wiens said they remain hopeful despite their financial challenges.
“Our community has always come through for us, so we’re still hoping we can provide families with hampers that can give them enough support during the holiday season,” she said.
“The board made the difficult decision that we are going to have to reduce the value of our hampers by 25 per cent this year just to be able to pay our bills … that is significant,” Wiens noted. “It was a very tough decision … we only can spend the money that we get, so that’s what we needed to budget for this year.
“We are grateful as a board that we are able to help all of the people who need the support from Christmas Cheer, but we can only do as much as the donations allow.”
