ESTEVAN — The 2023 Christmas hamper campaign is now underway.
The Estevan Community Hamper Association, which also operates the Angel Tree, has been accepting applications for Christmas hampers and gifts for kids since Nov. 1. The application deadline is Dec. 1.
The Christmas hamper campaign is aimed at supporting anyone who is in need of some help, be it in the form of food and/or gifts for children ages 16 and under this holiday season. The association provides applicants with relevant-sized festive food hampers that have everything a person or a family would need to celebrate Christmas, as well as gifts for children.
Jolie Bayda, the organization co-chair, said interest in the program has been on par with previous years and about what they've expected so far.
"Our applications have been open since November 1, and we've had about a normal amount of people applying so far. It will pick up closer to the deadline for sure, but we're expecting numbers to stay about the same … and we are excited to get going again," Bayda said.
The Estevan Community Hamper Association and Angel Tree are gladly accepting donations from individuals and businesses, and there will be a few fundraisers to benefit the campaign. Bayda noted that they are doing "okay" for funds right now, but it might change once all applications are in.
"It is all donation-based, so donations are always welcome," Bayda said. "We're doing okay right now, but that can change obviously. Everything's so expensive, to pay for all the hampers and toys is a lot of money. So, donations are always, always welcome. And if there happens to be any leftover money, it's carried over to the next year."
Estevan Tim Hortons announced that the Estevan hamper campaign will be the beneficiary of its Holiday Smile Cookie campaign, slated for Nov. 13-19 this year. Other businesses and groups are also to run some fundraisers for the hamper campaign around this time of the year.
"That's very appreciated," Bayda said.
Melodye Pierson was a big supporter of the campaign, and when she passed away last year her family requested that in lieu of flowers, all donations be made out to the Estevan Community Hampers and Angel Tree.
To collect items for the Toy Store, where parents who applied for the program can shop for Christmas gifts for their kids at no cost, there will be Angel Trees set up in Estevan Walmart, DMS, Fired-up Grill and potentially other locations from Dec. 4-10.
Closer to the date, the Estevan Community Hamper and Angel Tree Association will announce the days for the Toy Store and will also reach out to applicants to arrange for the hamper pick-up. Southern Plains Co-op will once again be helping with packing the hampers on the days leading to Christmas right before they go out to recipients so that everything in them is fresh.
To apply, people who feel that they need a bit of extra support this holiday season should call the Salvation Army at 306-634-2074, Bayda at 306-421-7337 or Marsha Poole at 306-421-9737, answer a few questions and provide full names of all adults over 17 in the household, along with home address, main phone number and a second contact number, email address, if applicable, and gender, age and pyjamas size for all children 16 and under.
The information about the kids' clothes sizes will be forwarded to the Estevan Kinette Club, which will be collecting pyjamas to add as another gift for local children as part of the PJ Project.
To arrange for a donation, people can contact Bayda.
