THUNDER BAY – The chair of the Christmas Cheer campaign says 2020 has turned everything upside down – but they’re going to try to make the best of a bad situation.
Fearing a growing need because of the impacts of COVID-19, and restrictions put in place about indoor and outdoor gatherings, along with concerns about taking in donations of non-perishable goods during a pandemic, the organization has switched to a monetary-only donation plan this year.
Joleene Kemp on Friday said they’ve been working with public health officials for months to be able to pull it off in such uncertain times.
“We have a lot of faith and we believe in the generosity of people. We believe that the nickels and dimes and quarters and loonies and toonies are going to make a difference so we can in fact pay for the groceries,” Kemp said.
“We have some very generous businesses, including the one that stepped forward this morning. Their donation is outstanding and it really gives us a big kick start toward meeting our financial obligations. You have to just trust that people will step forward, that those people who make donations of non-perishable food items, that they will take the money they would have spent and make a financial contribution.”
Kemp was referring to Ontario Power Generation, who presented a cheque for $16,000 on Friday, a spokeswoman saying the company knew it had to step up in such challenging times.
For many families, Christmas Cheer is the only reason they are able to have a traditional Christmas dinner.
In addition to the holiday meal, which includes a turkey and all the fixings, families get a week’s supply of groceries and, in conjunction with Toys for Tots, gifts for the children in their household.
“We’ve been asked to celebrate Christmas as a family within a household this year, so we want to make sure they can at least have a happy household and enjoy that particular day, because it’s what we’re all about. It’s about the goodness and the kindness of spirit that we have.”
Normally their Canadian Lakehead Exhibition headquarters, the Coliseum building, is a bustling place over the course of two days in mid-December.
This year will be a little different. They’ve pared down the number of volunteers who will be handling the food and will spread out hamper delivery over three days.
Because they’re buying all the food themselves, rather than relying on people dropping off donations on non-perishable goods, Kemp said every household – and she expects the need to grow even more this year – will have the exact same items in their hamper.
Donations may be made online at www.thunderbaychristmascheer.com or at any branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia in Thunder Bay. They can be mailed to P.O. Box 10297, Thunder Bay, Ont. P7B 6T7, or donors can text CHEER to 20222 to give $10 or $25 between now and Dec. 31. Schools are being encouraged to collect change to donate, and on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 Acadia Broadcasting will host 36 Hours of Cheer with donations being collected at the CLE Coliseum from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
North ward pickups will take place on Dec. 14 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. South ward pickups will occur on Dec. 15 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Last year’s campaign provided hampers to more than 8,000 people and raised $134,000.
