INNISFAIL – Dozens of Innisfail and area children recently lined up to meet Santa and help support an important cause.
The Innisfail Kinsmen Club presented its annual Breakfast with Santa at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre on Nov. 25.
The event is a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
“The turnout has been fantastic this year. It’s the first year we’ve advertised (the event) on Facebook and it seems to have gone really well,” said Shaun Fay, chair of the event. “We’ve got a really good response, it’s been steady.”
The Breakfast with Santa has continually grown bigger every year, said Fay.
“We’ve been doing this for several years. Families enjoy pancakes, eggs and sausage and everybody gets a picture with Santa Claus.”
The annual tradition is an important fundraiser for the Innisfail Kinsmen Club.
“This is for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. It’s one of our flagship fundraisers,” he said, noting the event raises several hundred dollars every year. “Any money we raise goes to research and working towards a cure for it.”
Fay said the success of the annual Breakfast with Santa is due in large part to the community support it receives, from both attendees and volunteers, including those from the Bow-Inn 4-H Beef Club who serve the food and help with the cleanup afterwards.
“In a town like Innisfail without the community all this stuff wouldn’t happen. We need the community support and people coming out to support the Kinsmen Club,” said Fay. “We appreciate everybody that comes to this and all of our other events and donates their money.
“We appreciate all the help from the Bow-Inn 4-H Beef Club,” he added. “They came out and volunteered to help us as well, and they put in a lot of time this morning.
“They really help us put this event on every year, “ Fay concluded.
