Over 80 volunteers packed the aptly named Unity Hall at the Centre Wellington Sportsplex last week to get Christmas hampers ready for delivery to the needy.
“As we speak, there are people over at the food bank lining up for hampers,” said Jackie Andrews, president of the Centre Wellington Community Food Bank board of directors. “They keep coming in.”
Food bank officials predicted they would be helping over 300 people with the Christmas hamper food drive, and they topped even that estimate.
Food bank manager Fred Aleksandrowicz said the entire community seems to be getting involved in helping in what has been a tough year for the economy and jobs in the community. He noted there was a dinner and toys handed out at the slots in Elora on Dec. 21. People came to the food bank at 5pm and were bused to the site.
It has been a hectic time, but Aleksandrowicz said, with a touch of relief, “So far, the community is keeping pace.”
That included several dozen J.D. Hogarth students from grades 7 and 8 who came by this year. They decorated all the styrofoam food hampers with Christmas symbols, and later helped to fill those boxes.
Andrews said the goal of the food bank was to obtain at least 250 of each item needed. Many of those donations came from local churches. The donations included everything from cake mixes and canned goods to vegetables and pasta sauces. They were stacked along the walls like a huge supermarket display.
Andrews said there would be enough food for 180 hampers, but this year, not all the hampers would be equal in size. The small ones were for two people, the medium for up to four people, and the large ones for families with more than five mouths to feed.
“We’ve always had it so that everybody got the same,” Andrews said, but added, “This year, we’re doing it according to need.”
Besides a huge amount of staples, each hamper would contain ten pounds of potatoes, and three pounds each of onions and carrots. When they were delivered, each hamper would also contain either a turkey or a ham.
Each of the boxes was numbered so organizers could fill them according to need and size. Those numbers then helped delivery volunteers to make sure they got to the correct homes or volunteers to provide the right box for those who picked them up.
Chloe Chaput and several of her friends dropped by to help out. The Lourdes High School teen said she simply wanted to contribute where she could.
One volunteer promised to help pick up some of the onions and cranberries that were late arriving at the hall.
Andrews told Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj, “We’ve had a lot of people just drop in, who came by to help.”
Ross-Zuj said in an interview similar scenes were being played out around Wellington County. The county staff also made a huge donation. Ross-Zuj, who is also the county warden, said this year county staff donations were going to Erin. Every year, a different community is aided.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott said, “You can sure feel the Christmas spirit right here in this room.”
He thanked all the volunteers and said while the food bank needs help all year round, “The needs are most pronounced this time of year.”
Angel program
Anyone wondering just how deeply area residents dug into their pockets needed to look no farther than the Christmas Angel program.
Organizer Debbie Ostic said that this is the first time since its inception several years ago that she sought some publicity for it.
The Christmas Angel program aims to provide one piece of clothing and at least two gifts to every child whose family is receiving the food bank’s Christmas hampers. That is in recognition that if families are struggling to buy food, they will have little to spend on gifts.
“We match up a Christmas Angel (child) with a sponsor,” she said. “The sponsor buys special presents for that child.”
She said some people sponsor more than one child.
Ostic cited toy drives by Lions Club and Reliable Ford as two more places where toys are provided, and there were tables piled high with presents sure to bring a smile on Christmas day.
The Christmas Angel sponsors were generous. There were lots of the usual toys and games for the younger kids, but they did not forget the teenagers, either. There were watches, purses, chess sets, puzzles, toiletries and cosmetics.
Ostic said there are 160 children in the program this year, and some of them received such things as DVD players, wallets, calculators, razors, alarm clock radios, and even a portable basketball net.
As well, there are knitting groups in the community, and they make mitts, scarves, and socks. Andrews said the clients can come through and take what they need off a special table. This year, there are 80 baby quilts made at the high school.
“We have another set [of toys] coming from the Groves Hospital toy drive.
She said food bank clients can also look around for a special gift. “If a child wants a special thing, the client can go and shop” from the piles of toys.
Ostic said that when she sought help this year, her phone rang off the hook, but with so many more children, there was a shortage of sponsors, but there was enough cash donated that volunteers could shop to ensure all children received gifts.
And, she said, “Some families just couldn’t say they need help when it comes to the hampers … Some did not get on a list. We can offer them toys.”
And, Ostic said, there are grandparents who need food hampers and also have no money for gifts. The food bank offers them an opportunity to pick up toys so grandchildren get presents from them on Christmas day.
“When I take a box of these to them, they are overwhelmed,” Ostic said. “There are a lot of tears. They are grateful for making their Christmas.”
Ostic concluded, “This community is probably the most generous … They do it. They know there’s a need and they come.”
The interview was interrupted by an announcement that the volunteers’ dinner was being served. Pizza donated by Dominos.
