Hospital patients won’t be forgotten on Christmas morning
OPERATION CHRISTMAS STOCKING HELPS BRING HOLIDAY CHEER
For more than 30 years patients at Chinook Regional Hospital have woken up to a holiday surprise every Christmas morning thanks to Operation Christmas Stocking. This year will be no different. On Wednesday, a room at CRH was transformed into Santa’s workshop and volunteers acted like elves as they filled each stocking with goodies.
Then, on the night before Christmas, nurses will deliver most of the stockings to their patients’ bedside. There may not be a chimney to hang the stockings from, but each one will be handled with care.
“Every single patient within the walls of Chinook Regional Hospital gets a stocking on or before Christmas morning,” said Hilary Holt, program assistant for CRH Volunteer Resources.
Inside they’ll find small gifts intended to bring some holiday cheer.
And for the past few years each stocking has included a “Letter of Hope.” These notes have been written by students across the city in an effort to bring some encouragement to those receiving hospital care over the holidays.
“The kids mostly draw pictures, it’s amazing,” Holt explained.
But that’s not all that is handmade; this year 516 handmade stockings were donated.
"They bring them in every year. One lady donates 200 stockings every year,” said Holt.
“We just have a lot of giving people and super talented people that give their stockings. We are lucky, we’re really blessed in this community for sure.”
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