Any family wishing to receive a Christmas Hamper from CFAX Santas Anonymous Society has only a few more days to make their application to the charity.
The cutoff for applications is Nov. 15. Applications will be cut off once capacity is reached.
That cautionary reminder was issued by Keri Molesky, a volunteer with the Sooke Christmas Bureau.
“If there are people in the community who miss that application deadline, the Sooke Christmas Bureau will do its best to take care of them,” Molesky said.
“We get some surplus toys from Santas Anonymous as well as some from a toy drive done by 17 Mile Pub and others. We put that together with individual donations and try to make sure that no child is missed at Christmas.”
The Sooke Christmas Bureau’s main work involves the solicitation of support, the collection of food and the collection of donations that combine to make certain that no family is without a generous food hamper at Christmas.
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“In Sooke, we do about 400 hampers that vary from hampers for individuals living alone to larger families with children,” Molesky said.
“It all started out with the firefighters doing a food drive about 35 years ago, and now it’s evolved to where we can make a big difference every year.”
But while the bureau concentrates on ensuring that every family has a generous Christmas dinner, Molesky said anyone who wishes to donate a toy would also be welcome.
“They can drop off new toys at the Sooke Food Bank, the Sooke Family Resource Centre or the Crisis Centre, and we’ll make sure that they go to children who need them.”
Those locations also have the applications forms for families who are still hoping to register with Santas Anonymous.
“Anyone wanting to register with Santas Anonymous can also download an application at the Santas Anonymous website,” Molesky said.
Molesky said work of the Christmas Bureau is only possible through the support of the District of Sooke that contributed funds to the charity and the continuing work of the community’s firefighters.
“They do the kettle campaign every Christmas. We’re just super grateful to everyone who helps out.”
mailto:tim.collins@sookenewsmirror.com
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