A wave of enthusiastic community support has helped the annual Sundre Santas initiative build up steam well ahead of the Christmas season.
"We've had lots of volunteers already coming in to put things together," said Cherie Johnson, event coordinator.
"There's just so many people around the community who donate to this," said Johnson, who is also the youth and family program coordinator at Greenwood Neighbourhood Place (GNP), which has administered Sundre Santas since 2006, although the program got started by community volunteers back in 1998.
"There have been so many coordinators and changes along the way, but it continues to be successful," she said.
Santa's Workshop, where volunteers work to sort through donations and prepare hampers, will for the last time be housed under the roof of the former municipal office adjacent to the Sundre Fire Department's hall, she said, adding that following the holidays, organizers will be busy attempting to secure a new home for next year.
"Once we get through this, we'll definitely be on the search."
For the time being, however, ongoing preparations to help ensure no one in the community gets left behind at Christmastime are coming along well, she said.
"The building is starting to fill up."
The Sundre Bantam Huskies hockey players offered their time and help to bring in tables and chairs so volunteers could get the workshop set up and running. Courtesy of additional volunteer help, bins were also distributed to about 15 locations around the community early last week to welcome donations for Sundre Santas. Registration forms for the program have also been made available throughout town, including the GNP office and the Town of Sundre's office, she said, adding the deadline to apply is Dec. 4.
Sundre Santas is intended for families, adults and seniors who are in need of a little extra assistance to get through the holidays, and although no one is screened or turned away, those who apply must reside within the Sundre school district. Last year roughly 120 hampers were distributed, helping more than 300 people, she said.
Volunteers braved the cold on Friday, Nov. 17 for the annual Charity Checkstop fundraiser, whose proceeds all go to Sundre Santas, she said.
Upcoming events include the Magic of Christmas shopping event that provides children with an opportunity to purchase gifts for family and friends that volunteers will carefully wrap. That event takes place Dec. 1 from 3-7 p.m. as well as Dec. 2 from noon to 4 p.m., she said, adding items available for children to buy are donated from the community.
"We're collecting items right now," she told the Round Up late last week, adding proceeds from the sale also go back into the Sundre Santas program to purchase items for people who have applied for assistance.
Another traditional part of the program is the annual 4-H food drive, which is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 7 starting at 5:30 p.m., she said.
Also, the Secret Santas program offers businesses, families or individuals an opportunity to shop for specific people who have registered with the Sundre Santas program, she said.
"Secret Santas are given a list for a family or individual so they know what they need."
Once all of the hampers are prepared, they will be distributed Dec. 17-20, she said.
Residents who know a person or family that they feel could use a hand are encouraged to advocate on those individuals' behalf and can with their permission fill out a registration, she said.
While Sundre Santas is well supported, additional volunteers will never be turned away. Members of the community who want to help are welcome to either drop by the GNP office or call 403-638-1011 to get their name on a callback list, she said.
"It's really a community effort," she said, adding more than 1,500 hours of volunteer hours were logged last year.
"Without that, it just doesn't happen."
Visit www.mygnp.org or check out GNP's social media presence for updates.
