Santa's Helpers

Community

 
It is better to give than to receive.
By Ali Mintenko

With the original intent to provide Christmas hampers and toys to the widows and orphans of the soldiers lost during the First World War, it quickly became apparent that far more families needed help at Christmas than those of the fallen soldiers. It wasn’t long before the churches recognized that working together would only strengthen their efforts, and in the 1940s they finally decided to form one organization to provide for the abundance of families in need.
Since then, the Cheer Board has continued to grow, each year supplying thousands upon thousands of hampers and toys to needy families in Winnipeg. Last year alone they distributed an incredible 18,662 hampers, and gifts to over 23,000 children.

It may seem miraculous that they are able to help so many, considering the Cheer Board doesn’t do any fundraising of its own. It relies solely on the good-heartedness of others, and as a result, its final efforts are a culmination of the endless time and effort by volunteers, and monetary donations by businesses and groups alike.

“We basically open the doors and say ‘Okay Winnipeg, this belongs to all of us, and if you want us to do the job, you have to support it,’” says Kai Madsen, executive director. Throughout the year, the Cheer Board has no office to speak of, only phone lines set up in a few members’ houses. These few volunteers field calls, and organize for the upcoming Christmas season, before really getting down to business in November of each year. On Nov. 1 the warehouse opened its doors, and a crew of volunteers went about setting up temporary walls, desks and phone lines, essentially creating an office in the 65,000 square feet of warehouse space that was donated for them to use this year.

Then come mid-November they begin accepting donations – adult volunteers sorting through all the food as well as the donated gifts, to determine the age and sex of child it is appropriate for, and then wrapping all the toys. “Kids pack all the hampers,” says Madsen, “We don’t allow adults to do it—and we have a waiting list.” All in all it takes about a thousand children to pack all of the hampers, working in assembly lines, packing things like jars of peanut butter and cans of cranberry sauce into each one.

Finally, volunteers go in groups to deliver them to each family that has requested one. Deliveries begin around the middle of December, because that allows time to ensure the staggering amount of hampers gets delivered, and allows time for anyone who missed their delivery to come pick it up at the warehouse. Nearly 60 per cent of the food and toys are donated, totaling upwards of $1.1 million. The other 40 per cent comes from donations from businesses, individuals, and groups who have done their own fundraising, to the tune of $750,000. That money is divided up amongst the hampers, used to buy toys and food items, with roughly $200,000 of that going to the turkey bill alone. There is no cap on how many hampers the Cheer Board can make, and no one in need is ever turned down.

Perhaps the most heart warming aspect of the entire operation is the army of volunteers who give so willingly of themselves, both with their time and their pocketbooks. More often than not, once they’ve volunteered that first year they see the magic of the Cheer Board, and the people that make it possible, and they want to stick around, many becoming lifers. One man recently retired from his volunteer position as a grocery sorter at the tender young age of 91.
Madsen himself has an impressive track record for having a big heart. Since volunteering for the first time at Christmas in 1970, he has never missed a year, holding the position of president for 23 years, and executive director for the past 14.

“It’s an amazing organization. When you see the generosity, and you see the willingness of people to participate, you just sort of say to yourself, ‘Wow!’” he says with a grin.

There are also those who donate of themselves by signing up to prepare a hamper for an individual or family. They are given the name of a family, and a grocery list of items to include in the hamper, as well as ages of any children that will need a new toy to open on Christmas morning. Of course, it is always encouraged to overspend on these hampers, as why give someone the bare minimum if you have the chance to make their Christmas even better?

At the end of all the donations, packing and delivering, what’s left are families with full bellies, and children with a new toy, having spent a Christmas they might not have had otherwise. And as if that weren’t enough of a reason to help out, any leftover hampers are distributed to soup kitchens and Winnipeg Harvest, to help feed even more people. It’s easy to see why people who volunteer with the Cheer Board never leave – the incredible feeling of helping someone else out, especially at Christmas, has to be one of the best there are. 

There is no better time than Christmas to open your heart and wallet to someone in need. To volunteer at the Christmas Cheer Board, call the volunteer coordinator at 989-5696. To sponsor a family call 989-5694, and for any other information please visit the CCB website at www.christmascheerboard.ca, call 989-5680 (effective Nov.1 - Dec.31), or the year-round phone line at 669-5369. If you wish to donate food or a new toy, information on drop-off locations can be found on the website.

Photo by Ruth Bonneville