THUNDER BAY - Hundreds of students representing over 15 local schools filled the Coliseum Building on Monday, leaving little to no room for people to manoeuvre.
“It’s organized chaos,” said Joleene Kemp.
Kemp, chair of the Christmas Cheer Fund, wasn’t just describing the obvious. It’s the name of the fundraiser’s second day, and the 2018 edition involved the highest number of both students and schools.
Although it was a little crowded at times, Kemp said the large number of willing hands made for a productive day.
“It’s an absolutely amazing day. This is the first time we’ve incorporated as many schools in the sorting process. The kids are really excited to be able to participate,” she said.
Hampers for this year’s Christmas Cheer will include the makings of a meal, including a turkey, fresh produce, and non-perishable food items. Food drives at local schools during the pre-holiday season provide much of the non-perishable goods.
The drive is expected to feed more than 8,000 people in the community.
Students had various jobs throughout the day to prepare for the hamper pick-up which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
For Kaedan Thompson, that meant grabbing carts of soups, beans, and cereals, and bringing them to different stations.
“I’ve done stuff like this sometimes with my family, but not this big,” said the Grade 7 student from Ecole Gran Morgan Public School.
“I think it’s a good thing to do. I think it shows you want to help your community.”
The financial target for this year’s Christmas Cheer was set at $116,000, and $42,000 of that was raised on Monday.
Kristy Dunning, a Grade 11 student at St Ignatius, has attended Christmas Cheer for the last two years. She said it’s an event that shows the wide range of people who are willing to help the community.
“I didn’t realize how many people come and help and how much we actually raise. It’s awesome seeing the impact we make.”
Dunning is part of Common Bonds, a social justice group at St. Ignatius.
“We’re a big part of this, and we organize Christmas Cheer at our school, so it’s big thing for us to and come down and do this.”
“That’s how change comes about,” Kemp said. “They’ll learn and talk at their schools about all the great things they saw. To break down those barriers, and we learn to respect everyone, hopefully that will make a difference.”
"If we were doing things right as a society, we wouldn't need food banks, we wouldn't need Christmas Cheer.We're not doing something right so it's only through the children stepping forward to the future that perhaps everyone will be productive citizens, as they want to be."
Registered recipients can pick up a hamper on Tuesday and Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
