Time for the annual YVO Christmas Angels
This week signifies the beginning of the annual Yamaska Valley Optimist Club Christmas Angels campaign.
By the end of it, patrons of six retail outlets between TBL, Sutton, and Cowansville will find displays with bright coloured paper angels suspended on them.
These little angels mean a whole lot to individuals who will be the recipients of the community’s good will. By adopting one of them means that you will be brightening up Christmas Day for one of the 220 individuals, mostly children, who might otherwise have no gifts to open. They have been carefully and sensitively identified by local schools and community organizations in the area.
YVO members responsible for the annual gift giving campaign, Suzan Smith, Susan Burbank, Darlene Adams, and Debbie Johnson have been hard at work setting up the process. Each angel identifies an anonymous recipient by highlighting his or her age, gender, and interests, and in some cases clothing size. The ladies know that not only will the recipients be thrilled about receiving something, but those who participate always love to be a part of it too. It’s a winwin activity for everyone involved.
The six stores participating this year are Giant Tiger and Nettoyeur Houle in Cowansville, Pharmacie Brunet in Sutton, and Barnes Home Hardware, De la Ferme à la Table and Depanneur Rouge in Knowlton.
All people have to do if they want to participate in making someone’s dreams come true is to go to one of these six stores and select an angel that you would like to give to. Register your name and angel with the store. First buy a gift and wrap it. Of course the type of gift and the amount you spend is completely at your discretion. The ladies say, “Whatever gift you choose, you can be sure it will be greatly appreciated.” After wrapping, attach your paper angel to the gift using a single strip of tape so that it can be easily removed later on. Then bring the wrapped and identified gift back to where you registered your name before December 10, 2017. The YVO Club will deliver the gifts before Christmas.
This program has been hugely successful and is growing in popularity, especially to those who are giving. Unfortunately, the number of recipients has increased connoting more strife in the community. The members of the YVO Club want to thank everyone who engages in this community-wide gift of generosity and caring.