Food, clothes and toys are filling Christmas hampers at area schools.
At Wishart Elementary, virtually all 325 students from kindergarten to Grade 6 are involved in putting together hampers for families registered with the Greater Victoria Christmas Bureau.
"We have 13 divisions, and each division gets a family," said teaching assistant Sandy Kadar, who co-ordinates the Wishart program.
"So we phone the Christmas Bureau and tell them how many families we need, then the kids and the parents all bring gifts and food and make a hamper for each of them.
"It's all confidential, so we'll just say something like there's a mom and there's a child who's six and a child who's eight."
The bureau compiles names of people needing assistance, while such member agencies as the Times 91原创 Christmas Fund, the Salvation Army and the Single Parent Resource Centre gather donations -- much like Wishart and other schools are doing, but on a larger scale.
Applications to the bureau are up 25 per cent this year to about 5,500. Bureau secretary-treasurer Maureen Quested said she expects the total to approach 7,000 to 8,000.
Wishart teachers, who are also big contributors to the holiday packages, explain to the students how important and appreciated their efforts are, Kadar said. The students respond with genuine enthusiasm.
"It's just awesome for them -- they absolutely love it."
The school also reaches out to local businesses to help, especially with the collection of one of the key hamper items -- Christmas turkeys.
"We go out into the community and we get turkey certificates," Kadar said. "For the last two years we've got certificates from Western Foods, The Market on Millstream and John Clarke Refrigeration. That's been really great."
Once the hampers are packed and ready to go -- usually during the week before Christmas -- a team of Grade 6 students gathers them up.
"The families either come and pick them up or we deliver them as needed," Kadar said.
Wishart is far from the only school helping Christmas Bureau families during the holiday season. Among the others are Colwood and Crystalview elementaries, and Oak Bay and St. Andrew's high schools.
Still more schools give directly to food banks or various other organizations, said Quested.
In 2008, donors to the Times 91原创 Christmas Fund gave more than $250,000, enough to brighten the season for 2,300 households.
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How to Donate
- Mail a cheque to the Times 91原创 Christmas Fund, 2621 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C.
V8T 4M2.
- Use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438.
- Donate online through our partnership with the Queen Alexandra Foundation at www.queenalexandra.org
- The Christmas Bureau can be reached at 250-388-5704.
