Niverville Christmas Hamper registration is underway, and the Helping Hands Food Bank Board Chair says they need more individuals to sponsor a family.  

Larissa Sandulak says they are expecting the same number of food hamper applications as last year, around 80 families, but with the registration deadline a week away, they need people to consider sponsoring a local family.  

She notes they opened hamper registration a couple of weeks ago.  

“People can register on our website for helpinghands.com/christmas or if you don't have access to your computer, you can give us a call and we'll give you a call back and register you just over the phone.” 

Then for individuals that would like to sponsor a family to receive a Christmas Hamper, Sandulak explains how sponsorship works.

“We are looking for sponsors to sponsor families in need. And so, folks just need to go to our website and register to be a sponsor. Dan, who is in charge of all things Christmas with us this year, will send you an e-mail once he's matched you with a family. So, you're going to get information about that family, like how many adults, how many kids are in the family, and then they can go and shop for a present for the kids in that family.” 

She also asks for a suggested monetary donation to cover the food items in the hamper. Sandulak says individuals who sponsor a family are welcomed to add a card or something personal from their own family which will be added to the food portion of the Christmas hamper and delivered in late December.  

Sandulak says all donations are anonymous, but at the same time it’s very personal.  

“So, we know that a lot of people have fun, and they like to get their kids involved and it's just, you know, it's cool to think about, just like getting something for a specific family, you know, maybe even a neighbor that you're not even aware of the situation. But it's just really fun to just personalize it and make it specific.”  

Sandulak says in past years they’ve had each of their families sponsored.  

“Last year we had 82 families and every single one of them was sponsored.” 

Sandulak says, the majority of Niverville Christmas Hamper recipients live in the town, though there are some families from New Bothwell and a handful from Ste Agathe.  

Speaking to individuals who are thinking of sponsoring a family, she says,  

“I would encourage them to try, if they haven't done that already. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and you know, I know everybody's budgets are a little bit tight these days, so even if you wanted to do it with another family or some coworkers, you know, kind of split it up, that way you still get that good feeling inside and they'll be helping out some neighboring families, but maybe a little bit less stress on your own wallet.”

 

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