Judy Wrigley wishes she could be a fly on the wall Christmas morning when a child opens a present she made.
The quilter was one of about 75 members of the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild who made quilts that will be wrapped with teddy bears as part of this year's Christmas Cheer campaign.
"To have that and hug and snuggle into bed with that evening, it's very heart warming," Wrigley said of the more than 100 quilts made throughout the year.
More children will have that chance as the campaign has decided that only families with children will be receiving hampers this year.
The past three years has seen the campaign come up short by allowing seniors and single people to get a hamper. With more than 45 per cent of people coming from that demographic, cheer chair Joleen Kemp said the need is just too great for one organization to meet it.
"It was a very difficult decision but we felt that we had to try and narrow our focus," Kemp said at the Christmas Cheer kickoff Friday afternoon.
A lot of tears were shed when the committee made its tough decision, which also reduced its financial goal to $140,000 this year instead of $165,000. But this means that families will now get a hamper that includes enough food for a week along with a full Christmas dinner. Local woodworkers also made children's toys and the Thunder Bay Public Library has already donated more than 80 boxes of food as its been accepting food items in lieu of fines.
Kemp is hoping that other organizations will step in to help seniors and singles during this season.
The kickoff will see donation drives throughout the city until Dec. 16 when volunteers meet Dec. 16 at the CLE Colesium to sort through donations.
