ST. PAUL - The Knights of Columbus and Santa’s Elves once again ensured families in need didn’t go without on Christmas – distributing 230 hampers filled with food and toys.
A group of about 30 volunteers gathered at the St. Paul Senior Citizens Centre to organize food and label boxes, in preparation to filling the boxes with food and toys to be given out on Dec. 22.
“The recipients love receiving as much as we love giving,” says St. Paul Knights of Columbus member Simon Dargis. “And that is our payment, and that’s what we want.”
The Knights, alongside Santa’s Elves, based out of St. Paul Regional High School, have been partnering for years to put together hampers filled with food and gifts to give to families in need of a little extra help over the Christmas season.
While the Knights came together on Saturday (Dec. 21) to fill their boxes with staples like cereal, bread, pasta, tomato sauce and more, the Elves filled hampers needing toys on Sunday.
To know which box required toys, the army of volunteers labelled each box on Saturday. Each label notified organizers how many adults and children they were packing for, says Dargis. Groceries went on top and toys directly below in another box.
“The recipients are mostly recommended by neighbours,” Dargis said. “The need is there and we try to help them.”
On Sunday, several community members, including a few local sports teams made up of young athletes, volunteered their morning to make sure the 230 hampers were full and ready to be delivered or picked up at the Senior Citizens Centre. Hampers are mostly picked up, with some volunteers delivering a few to families with no vehicles.
Elves’ organizer Dawn Robitaille thanked the community for donations. A couple weeks earlier, the group had noted a lack of gifts in the nine- to 17-year-old age group.
“Everything came together perfect. It was incredible,” Robitaille said.
Robitaille says the Elves will attempt to do more fundraisers throughout the year to fill the gap, as cash donations have been lower compared to the past few years.
