Mayor gets to play Santa for a day
The Stratford District Mayoral Christmas Gift Appeal is a tradition Stratford residents can truly be proud of, writes Stratford Press editor Ilona Hanne, who played Santa’s helper one morning in December, helping mayor Neil Volzke deliver some welcome Chr
Five days before Christmas, Stratford District Mayor Neil Volzke swapped his mayoral chains for a Santa hat and took a road trip around the district. In what is an annual tradition - and undoubtedly one of his favourite ones - Neil was playing Santa for the morning, delivering gifts and groceries to recipients of the Mayoral Christmas Gift Appeal.
The appeal is an annual tradition that asks for people to donate toys, books and other gifts in the lead-up to Christmas, ready to be distributed to individuals and families who would benefit from a little bit of Christmas cheer.
Anna Crane, Stratford District Council community engagement and development lead, says the community was “very generous” this year, donating a wide range of quality and thoughtful items.
“We also received monetary donations from both Stratford and Toko Lions groups, totalling $1000 which enabled us to purchase more items and groceries.”
When people are nominated, be it by a friend, family member, church, school or other organisation, their details and the ages of their children are noted, enabling the council’s community development team elves to select appropriate gifts, toys and groceries ready for delivery.
Anna says the community isn’t just generous in donating gifts, but also in nominating people who would benefit from the appeal.
“Over 20 homes were nominated this year, and other than a couple which weren’t actually in the Stratford district, all received gifts and groceries through this year’s appeal.”
People were nominated for a variety of reasons, from temporary hardship or unexpected financial challenges to long-term illnesses. Many people are facing a tough time over Christmas, and the point of the appeal is to lighten that load for them, says Anna.
A total of 23 homes were visited by mayor Santa on the day, and while some people were surprised to see the district mayor knocking at the door, all were delighted to be told why he was visiting.
There were tears of joy, hugs, and plenty of heartfelt thank yous as the
mayor and his elves handed over bags packed to the brim with toys, gifts and groceries.
From hula hoops to boxes of Lego, meat packs to biscuits and chips, knitted teddies to hair accessories, it wasn’t just the items themselves that brought smiles to people’s faces but also the fact that people in the community care and donate to the appeal in the first instance.
It took Neil more than four hours
to visit all 23 families, reflecting not just the geographical spread of the district, but also the time spent talking to each person. It was time well spent, he says.
“I believe the community gift appeal is a really worthwhile thing to do. When you learn of the difficulties and hardship some families are facing, and then seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids receiving gifts, it is a very gratifying to be Santa for
the day. Quite a few of the recipient families were a little overwhelmed and tears of joy were not uncommon.”
Neil says residents are to be commended for their support of the appeal.
“Once again the Stratford community has demonstrated its supportive nature to those less fortunate people. My special thanks to all the donors who make this possible.”