The Morden Christmas Cheer Board saw another holiday season of increased need in the community.
The final tally was 384 hampers, which was an increase from 364 the previous year, but even more telling perhaps is some of the details behind that number.
It included 101 more kids’ presents than a year earlier, and it was estimated that the effort overall was helping out over 1,100 people in the community.
An additional challenge was that the hampers included a 15 per cent increase in grocery gift cards to help combat the rise in grocery costs.
“We gave more money in the grocery gift cards because food is so much more expensive,” said Morden Cheer representative Ali Wiens. “It was expected. We were planning for it, but it was a big increase in the number of hampers and as well in the amount of children’s toys that were needed.
“It was a very big impact … it’s unfortunate that there is the need, but we are really fortunate that we have the volunteers and all the people who donate to help us be able to supply this to all the people who need the extra help.”
For a number of years now, the cheer board has done gift cards for the food, although they do still collect non-perishable food and divide that among the hampers, which also include new unwrapped toys and books for the children.
Wiens noted there is a lot that goes into the effort to make this all come together over a brief period of time, including having 526 gifts wrapped in about three hours.
There are many volunteers who helped behind the scenes such as members of the Morden Thunder hockey team, who helped load vehicles on delivery day, and there are a handful of volunteer drivers who have been coming out for over 20 years, including some multi-generational family groups.
“The three days getting ready for hamper delivery were very busy … there were over 90 volunteers who helped over the three days,” Wiens noted. “It all went off very successfully.”
The cheer board were welcoming financial support going into the end of the year, as donations had been lagging.
“We were a little behind compared to other years,” said Wiens. “We were wondering if it was perhaps a bit because of the mail strike.”
She extended a huge thank you to the community for another successful year, including to the many individuals, businesses and organizations who run fundraisers for the cheer board.
“We’re just so grateful for all of the support. We couldn’t do this without all of the people doing all of these things for us,” said Wiens. “It makes us feel great every year … we see that we’re doing something really important for our community, and we feel very supported by the community.”
Donations can be made online at mordenchristmascheer.com.
