SPORTING CHRISTMAS
Help us spread some seasonal joy
Sporting Christmas has a face. Thousands of faces, actually — real faces, real people.
It’s a hard thing to picture: real, gnawing need — the kind of need that might, for example, prompt a person to seek help at Christmastime. The Starphoenix has raised money for the Salvation Army’s Christmas hamper program since 1976 — Sporting Christmas, we call it — and I met with a couple of those faces Wednesday morning.
There’s big-hearted Calvin Raycarr. When times are lean, he’s been glad to receive a hamper for his family.
He’s also volunteered with the Sally Ann’s Christmas hamper program for eight years now, lifting, moving, decorating. He gets a call every year from toy coordinator Debra Prosofsky: Time to start up again. They give him a ride, and he’s there, grinning widely.
He, as much as anybody, knows what it means — this hamper, laden with holiday food. Those toys for the kids, ready to unwrap.
“In those hampers, you’ve got pancake mix,” Raycarr related Wednesday during a break from volunteering. “You’ve got cereal. You’ve got syrup. It’s nice when your kids get up in the morning and you’re standing in the kitchen, whipping up a thing of pancakes for them. You sit, eat breakfast, then at 5 o’clock at night, you’re sitting down to a turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, the fixings.
“The look on my face when my son looks at me and goes ‘hey dad, this is great!’ It crushes you, because you don’t know what to say. You’re like ‘enjoy it!’ And there’s leftovers the next day ...
“In my opinion, it’s the look on the kids’ faces when they wake up to a big breakfast, a big supper, then sitting there going ‘I’m full; I can’t move; I can’t even play with my toys, because my belly’s full.’ And it’s nice when you can sit there, and watch your kid open a Christmas present you know you might not have been able to afford. But you got it from somewhere that helped you get that.” He paused.
“It’s nice to see the kids ...”
Last year, our Sporting Christmas campaign raised $85,518.75, for the Salvation Army. Our donors have given $1,898,187.13 since that first campaign in 1976.
“The negativity, the sadness, doesn’t need to be there,” says Connie, who asks that we not use her last name. “If this program wasn’t here, there would be more of that. It fulfils a lot of people’s Christmas wishes; their dreams. It may not be much, but it’s a lot to some.”
Those hampers have helped her provide for her family. Now, like Raycarr, she volunteers.
You’ll find Connie at Sally Ann’s Toy Shop, a place lined with shelves — toys, games, puzzles, books divided by age and interest, there for the taking. Families with a need can pick out toys they otherwise couldn’t afford. They get a main gift, and a stocking stuffer, and a stuffed toy, and if their kid likes to read, they can take a book. There’s board games for the family.
Connie is a guide. She shows people around, points out possibilities. If a father comes in and isn’t sure what his daughter might like, she asks him questions: Does she curl her hair? Is she quiet? Does she like to read? And they narrow it down, bit by bit.
“Some are ‘I’m so embarrassed I have to come here,’ ” Connie says. “No need for embarrassment whatsoever. This is open to everybody. Some people swallow their pride to come here; some people just can’t wait. As soon as we tell them ‘we’re here for you guys, to take the stress off this time of year’ ... some of them leave so happy. You can see them shining and glowing as they leave — they’re so appreciative.”
We do this because of those people, and we’re glad to receive an early-bird donation from the CIBC Funseekers in memory of Forrest Conklin. This hearty group says they ’ve raised $13,330 for Sporting Christmas over the last 20 years.
“A lot of people,” says Raycarr, “ask me ‘why do you (volunteer)?’ Because when I needed help, I was down and out with my wife and son, and boom — somebody told me about the Salvation Army. I picked up a hamper, and I said ‘hey, how can I become a volunteer?’ He said ‘come back with me,’ and I’ve been doing it every year since. The look on people’s faces when they walk in this door ...
“It’s a big thing. A lot of people don’t understand.”