SPORTING CHRISTMAS
The StarPhoenix is kicking off its annual Sporting Christmas fundraiser for the Salvation Army’s Christmas hamper program. Lt. Laurie Sauder is part of the team helping to provide toys and food to the needy at the Sally Ann Toy Shop on Avenue C.
Tucked away in a basement on Avenue C, through this door and down those stairs, lies Sally Ann’s Toy Shop.
It’s a special and exclusive place. Shelves are lined with toys, grouped by gender and age. There’s books, board games, toys of all description.
One thing is missing: The cash register.
These toys are free of charge to families who need a helping hand at Christmas.
It’s part of the Salvation Army’s Christmas hamper program, which The StarPhoenix has supported every year since 1976 with our Sporting Christmas fundraiser.
“Sometimes, when times are tough, or when you don’t have access to resources, it puts additional stress and pressure on parents,” Salvation Army Lt. Laurie Sauder said Wednesday while showing us around. “We want to relieve some of that pressure, and allow everyone the opportunity to experience the joy and celebration of Christmas.”
The Christmas hampers themselves are full of food for families in need — a turkey, all the trimmings, plenty of extras.
And if a family needs it, there’s gifts for the kids. Once upon a time, toys were chosen by volunteers and sent along with the hampers.
But several years ago, they made a change: Parents or caregivers are invited down to Sally Ann’s Toy Shop, where they hand-pick those presents. Each kid receives a large gift, a small gift, a stocking-stuffer, a book and a family game.
The Christmas season is not easy for families on extremely fixed incomes. It can seem insurmountable, that idea of purchasing gifts or a special holiday meal, when there’s bills to pay and no wiggle room.
That’s where we — all of us — come in.
We raised $84,354.45 last year. Our all-time total, dating back to Day 1 in 1976, is $1,812,668.38.
We’ve fed a lot of people and created lifelong memories.
People tell me Sporting Christmas is a staple of their holiday season. They enjoy reading the stories, checking the donors and in-memoriams to see if there’s anybody they know, and contributing what they can to an ever-expanding pot that’s the sum of all our parts.
The StarPhoenix makes not a cent from this program. We donate the labour, newsprint and web space it takes to make this work, and a caring community takes care of the rest. We’ve got a couple of donations to kick-start our baby-fresh 2017 campaign, including Merv and Lil Prysiazniuk sending a gift our way in memory of Tim Anderson.
In addition, we received a gift last year after everything had officially wrapped up, and are applying it to this year’s total. So thank you to William and Janice Harrison, who also enjoy including a poem with their donations. We love the literary arts here at Sporting Christmas headquarters, so here it is:
“You can do good in times like this
By giving to a cause that just can’t miss
So thanks to all
For answering the call
And donating to the Sporting Christmas!”
That summarizes it better than I can — thanks to the Harrison family.