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Christmas Cheer campaign aims to serve 4,500 this season

THUNDER BAY – Joleene Kemp believes in that in a perfect world there wouldn’t be the need for a Christmas Cheer Fund.
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THUNDER BAY – Joleene Kemp believes in that in a perfect world there wouldn’t be the need for a Christmas Cheer Fund.

But with 4,500 people, 3,100 of them children, recipients of Christmas hampers last year alone, the need is greater than ever in the community.

The organization officially kicked off the campaign on Friday, announcing a target of $129,000 to provide a week’s worth of groceries, including fixings for a holiday meal, to people having a hard time making ends meet.

“Really and truly, no family should have to go to a food bank, should say they can’t provide for their children at Christmas,” said Kemp, the chair of this year’s drive.

“We try to do it in a spirit that respects them. We simply say this is an opportunity for us to do something for you, when the time comes you’ll be able to pay it forward one day. It’s a philosophy of when someone is at their lowest, if you provide them with a little bit then they’ll remember that and they will move forward.”

The target is slightly less than the $130,000 goal from last year.

Kemp said the fund uses the financial contributions received from the community to buy turkeys and non-perishable food items not collected through donations. A partnership with Cav-Tal Foods and local farmers has resulted in the donation of fresh potatoes, as well as lower costs for purchased non-perishable food items.

“We feel confident we’ll hit the target, number one,” she said. “Number two, we feel we don’t want to take away from any of the other charities because they’re all struggling and trying to do the same kinds of good work our group is doing.”

The organization is also receiving support from other corporate partners, with Union Gas, Aramark and Ontario Power Generation at the media conference for their support.

OPG spokeswoman Tana-Leigh Harty said the organization has been a longtime supporter of the Christmas Cheer Fund.

“With this organization and the Christmas Cheer committee, we’ve identified the need for the people of Thunder Bay,” she said. “This organization fulfills that need and we’re happy to support it. The breadth of the commitment and dedication this initiative fulfills in the community is definitely palpable to the people of Thunder Bay.”

Next week will be the start of a frenetic next two-and-a-half weeks for the organization. On Monday, volunteers will begin taking information from people requesting assistance who are not already registered with Ontario Works. That process will continue until Dec. 11.

Then, the Stuff a Bus food drive will be taking place on Dec. 12 at the Real Canadian Superstore followed by a non-perishable collection blitz at the CLE Coliseum on Dec. 13. That will lead to volunteers starting the mad dash of organizing all the donations, compiling the hampers and distributing on Dec. 15 and 16.
 





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