THUNDER BAY – Joleene Kemp, the outgoing chair of the annual Christmas Cheer campaign, says as much as she doesn’t want to look at the statistics, they’re hard to ignore.
Last year the program served up hampers for about 8,000 people, a number that could increase in 2023. Add in the astronomical increase in food prices, and Kemp said Christmas Cheer needs all the help it can get.
“The stats are horrendous. Statistically, 18 per cent of the people in Canada are not able to properly take care of themselves in terms of food security – feeding themselves and their family. And at least six per cent of those are children,” Kemp said on Friday, launching this year’s campaign, which is collecting money for next year’s hamper program.
“That really hits home to us. Those numbers don’t capture the faces of the people. That’s what Christmas Cheer is about. We see the people who come and in say they are really courageous to have stepped forward and registered to receive a hamper, because that’s the hardest thing they have to do.”
The program provides a hamper full of groceries for each participating family, meant to ensure food is one less thing parents have to worry about as Christmas approaches. Christmas Cheer also partners with Toys for Tots, run by the Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Association, to provide a gift for each child in the hamper program.
“It’s not easy to say I’m not able to make ends meet, I can’t do Christmas. Help me please,” Kemp said. “We’re excited to be able to do everything we can to make things pleasant and happy and they can feel that it’s OK.
“There have been many people who volunteer for us who at one time were recipients. There was a problem and they needed it.”
To donate to or for information on how to register for Christmas Cheer, the public can visit their website, www.thunderbaychristmascheer.com and make an online gift, or visit any Scotiabank branch in Thunder Bay. Those with cellphones can text CHEER to 344-1053 or 344-8229 to make a donation. Schools are also being invited to have students collect change to help fill the Christmas Cheer coffers.
Once again, Acadia Broadcasting will hold its 36 Hours of Cheer event, broadcasting on 99.9 The Bay and Country 105 from 6 a.m. on Dec. 7 through 5 p.m. on Dec. 8, with a monetary pop-up donation booth in place outside the radio station’s Park Avenue offices from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
South ward hampers can be picked up at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition’s Coliseum building on Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. North ward recipients can pick up their hampers on Dec. 13.
