In a year when charity donations have been stretched to the limit an Innisfail company and its staff members have dug deep into their pockets to ensure every needy child in town has a toy under the Christmas tree.
The 125 workers at Innisfail's NWP Industries Inc., a local oilfield production equipment company, have given up their annual social club money they use for staff events and handed it over to the local Christmas Bureau – all $1,800 of it. And the company immediately agreed to match it.
“Our staff has a recycling fund that they were planning on using for a social event for the staff but they voted to help somebody in need or give it to charity,” said Mitch DeBelser, company president. “Quite honestly I was surprised that happened and I was also very happy, so I offered to match it.”
The staff's recycling fund is an annual fundraiser for its social club and it is the first time company workers have voted to hand it all to charity.
Marian Moritz, a director at the local Christmas Bureau, said the $3,600 total donation from NWP represents about 10 per cent of the entire amount of donations the organization gets in a year.
She said in a year when many people have already given plenty to other important causes, the money will go a long way to ensure every child is not without a special toy this Christmas.
“Our donations are down this year. We are kind of struggling so this means a lot to us. It is great,” said Moritz. “We have certain age groups that are really lacking in toys right now so this means we can go out and buy toys for the children, and that is really where our donations are down. We are not getting the new toys we need. We can go buy them now.
“This will mean we won't have to go into the red,” she added. “I think we have all been donating to charities a lot this year, with the flooding and the typhoons and the fires and so on, and I think everybody is really feeling it.
“I know in Calgary the charitable organizations are down in terms of donations so it is understandable,” said Moritz. “But we do appreciate anything the community can give us. They have never let us down and I am sure we will get enough to give every child toys.”
