With less than a month until Christmas, the Community Hamper Association is needing a lot of Christmas gifts for children. The Angel Tree program that goes hand in hand with the association has begun to fulfil this need.
The association has been running for over 35 years to make sure that every family gets a good meal on Christmas day and every kid gets a toy under the tree.
A Christmas tree decorated with numerous angels is already set up. It offers Estevan the chance to share the joy of giving. Char Seeman, who has dedicated 26 years of her life to the hamper association, explained how the program is going to work this year.
“The Angel Tree is where we get toys for the toy store. The Angel tree is going to be set up from December 5th to December 15th at Wal-Mart. And people can come in, take an angel of the tree and buy a present for the child of that age,” Seeman said.
Any parents that are given a food hamper are welcome to come to the association toy store and pick Christmas gifts for their children. The demand for hampers is high this year. By the end of November, the association has received a lot more applications than the same period the year before.
At the time of the interview, there were 115 requests for toys for boys and 156 – for girls and the numbers keep growing. Seeman offered a few options for those who are willing to get involved with the program and to receive a hamper for the Holiday week.
“They can phone me at 421-9182,” Seeman said. “Or they can call St. Giles Anglican church, or St. Paul’s United church, or the Salvation Army.”
And those willing to support the association and the community during the holiday season can just buy some toys. Monetary donations are also welcome, as they allow the association to fill up hampers and buy more gifts especially for kids of an older age group. Besides, Wal-Mart toys may be dropped off at the Salvation Army or at Seeman’s house. And if it’s more convenient for you to take monetary donations to the Salvation Army remember to note that the donation is for the Angel Tree.
