INNISFAIL – Kristen Spatz knows what it's like to have a hard Christmas.
But since those past dark days of feeling hunger and disappointment she has made it a mission to ensure locals never have to go through that, especially during the holiday season.
For as long as most can remember, Spatz, a lifelong Innisfailian, has regularly organized fundraisers in town to help out folks going through tough times. With this year’s COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the finances of so many locals she is once again determined to make a difference with an initiative called Bringing Christmas Cheer to Families this Year.
Her idea is simple but heartfelt – no struggling local family should go through Christmas without a wonderful, traditional holiday meal.
“It’s heartbreaking. Many people are losing their jobs. They are tying to claim unemployment insurance, which is not nearly enough to live off. It’s bad. I hate it. I hate COVID,” said Spatz, who is married and has three children full-time at home.
“I guess seeing more people struggle made me think about it and to help,” she added. “It’s heartbreaking to even know of a family that went without Christmas dinner.”
With so many events cancelled, and with the strict provincial COVID-19 gathering restrictions firmly in place, Spatz not only had to be creative, she also had to reach out for assistance to make her plan work.
First, she had to find sponsors willing to pay for a family’s Christmas dinner food and all the fixings. Then she had to find help in putting it all together for pick-up or delivery.
Enter John Harris, the owner of John’s NoFrills in Innisfail.
“People are always in need but now is the time we give a little more attention to it. We want to make sure everybody gets a nice Christmas meal,” said Harris, noting his store has done giveaways in the past to help the disadvantaged. Harris said he’s pleased to “jump on board” to help out families this year with a special Christmas meal. “As well as getting all the meals ready and prepared, Kristen told me the items she wants, and we will make sure they are all done up.”
And Spatz is grateful for the support, as it will ensure everything runs smoothly for families to pick-up or have their Christmas meal delivered to their homes on Dec. 18.
“He’s getting everything ready so that the sponsors can go in and pay for the food and the families can then pick them up, or if the families are comfortable with it, the sponsors can pick up everything and deliver it. It is completely confidential,” said Spatz, noting Harris is one of the 10 sponsors who so far have eagerly signed on to help make Christmas special to the ones who need it most.
“I have people who came to me right away and said they wanted to be a sponsor, and others saying, ‘let me know if you need help,” she added. “I don’t need too much because I am just like a middleman, hooking up the sponsor with the family and then getting ahold of John to let him know what is going on.”
While Spatz has 10 sponsors so far, there are just five families that have been found who require a Christmas dinner boost. There is still time to find more of both. Spatz said she can wait until Dec. 15 for folks to let her know they could use a good old-fashioned Christmas turkey dinner.
For more information about Bringing Christmas Cheer to Families this Year, any citizen can contact Spatz on Facebook or messenger, or email at: [email protected]. Citizens call also phone or text her at 403-506-6468.
