The Community Hamper Association expects it will be busy this fall, as it hopes to meet the needs of local residents.
Char Seeman, who is the co-chair of the hamper association along with Heather Woodhouse, said the association and the Salvation Army have already received numerous applications and referrals for hampers, which are delivered to local residents just before Christmas. The hampers ensure healthy meals for people on Christmas day.
She isn’t surprised in the early demand for hampers, because the association expected it would be a big year.
“With as close as we work with the Salvation Army, their food bank demand has been way up, so we knew it was going to be up this year,” said Seeman.
The association filled about 400 hampers last year, and they expect to fill a similar number this year.
She finds people are often stunned to find out how many hampers are filled.
“We need more awareness in what is going on in our community, that is for sure,” said Seeman.
Hampers include cereal for breakfast, and then turkey with stuffing, and all the other food associated with a Christmas supper. The hampers usually create leftovers for people.
They range in size from small, which is for one or two people, and extra large, which is for families with more than seven people.
The association is also trying to make the hampers more uniform. Hampers used to have enough food for a week.
“With the demand for the hampers, we’ve had to cut back on what we’re putting in the hampers so we could give more hampers out,” said Seeman.
The deadline to apply for a hamper, or to refer somebody, is Dec. 6. It’s a soft deadline, as the association has received requests on Dec. 23 or 24 in previous years, but Seeman said they want to receive the applications early so they have an idea of how many hampers they will have to fill.
Hampers will be delivered from Dec. 21-23.
The association is looking for people to step forward and fill hampers, and some individuals and groups have already said they would fill a hamper.
Seeman noted that at the Estevan Motor Speedway’s annual awards banquet Nov. 3, a photo of one of the drivers was sold through an auction, with money going towards the Angel Tree program, which is also operated by the association.
Another driver donated the money that he received through sponsorship for his vehicle to the hamper association.
“A lot of people are coming up with some really innovative ideas,” said Seeman.
The Angel Tree will be set up at Walmart from Dec. 5-15. Similar to past years, supporters will pluck an angel, which has an age inscribed, and purchase an appropriate gift for the child.
There will be blue angels for boys and pink angels for girls.
People can also donate cash, which will be used to purchase gifts. While the association receives many donations through the Angel Tree each year, they still usually have to purchase gifts for older children, since they don’t receive as many gifts for that age group.
“We hope we have enough toys, because we did way more than 400 kids last year,” said Seeman.
They had enough toys last year, between the toys that were donated and the toys that they purchased.
Several initiatives are planned to support the Angel Tree this year, including a fill the cruiser effort involving the Estevan Police Service, and a toy drive by the Estevan Fire Rescue Service.
The toys that are donated will be stored, and set up inside St. Giles’ Anglican Church from Dec. 17-19. Hamper recipients with children can drop by and pick out a toy to round out the hampers.
