Ensuring a merry Christmas for all

Nearly 1,500 families will have a better Christmas thanks to Steinbach Community Christmas.

Volunteers were hard at work this week, sending out 1,480 Christmas hampers to those in need.

Co-chair Carolyn Peters said that number has risen from 1,280 last year, an almost 16 percent increase, and that doesn’t include the 40 families that as of Monday remained on the wait list.

“Sometimes we have people decline the hamper or say, “We’re not in need, give it to another family,” she said, adding they will look carefully at if they can address the waiting list families’ needs as well.

As food bank numbers grow, so do the demand for hampers and Peters said they aren’t surprised by the rising need.

“We anticipate growth every year,” she said.

Close to 500 volunteers are needed to run the operation smoothly, but in Steinbach, getting people to step up is not a challenge.

“We actually turn a lot of volunteers away, which is sad because we want to get as many people involved as we can,” Peters said. “But there’s only so many people we can plug in.”

Deliveries were made Dec. 8-10, and Dec. 15 is reserved for pickups.

Peters said it’s a fun atmosphere.

“It’s a community, it’s a buzz, it’s Christmas,” she said. “It’s a good feeling we’re helping our community.”

There’s also emotion involved.

“Not only are we doing something that is good and it feels good, but you also think about why people are in need, why so many families are in need, why we have to fill a need like this,” she said. “In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to.”

Peters said it also puts things in perspective for those who are fortunate enough to have what they need for Christmas.

“We’re basically providing families a meal for their Christmas dinner which a lot of us take for granted,” she said.

Steinbach Community Christmas also provides toys for over 2,200 children this year.

“For a lot of them it’s the only gift their parents are really able to give them,” she said.