By paNOW

Locals work to gather holiday gifts for guys

Dec 10, 2017 | 2:33 PM

With the annual Community Christmas Dinner on the horizon, a local duo is working to make the event a bit more special for the men who will be in attendance.

For a number of years, Coun. Charlene Miller has championed a program where she collects necessities such as winter wear, toiletries and chocolate, packs them into purses and gifts them to women at the event.

Noticing a lack of such a program for the men, Coun. Evert Botha and regular volunteer Conrad Burns eagerly jumped at the opportunity to replicate the endeavour.

“We did not realize that men in our community have not been stepping up and supporting our own men,” Burns said Friday at the Salvation Army where a generous donation of socks, toques and candy canes was handed over to help the two reach their goal. 

The men have been and will continue to collect clothing, toiletries and bags, suitable for men.

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“Over the years it has come to light that people are freezing to death in our community and we have to do everything that we can to help those people get through the cold winter,” Burns added.

Botha echoed this sentiment, explaining their desire to obtain upwards of 100 gift bags before the dinner on Christmas Day at St. Mary School.

“We are getting mixed bags of items coming through and today is the big substantial donation,” he said, putting the call out for clothing items and bags. “Push comes to shove, we will find something.”

Cpt. Laura Van Schaik with the Salvation Army was excited to assist, more so as the group is piggybacking off the work of other community members. 

She made note how often times, the organization operates as “an island” of sorts and “doing our own thing.”

“So anytime we get to work with other community organizations…we are really excited,” she said. “We are really hoping this may be the catalyst for other organizations to hop on board and give what they can as well.”

Further to this, she made note how men in our community can be overlooked, as the focus can be geared towards women, single moms or those fleeing domestic abuse.

“The men are a bit forgotten, so it is wonderful that someone took notice of that and is making sure the men are not forgotten this Christmas.”

Other community members have already taken to the cause. The Prince Albert Food Bank, Prince Albert Northcote MLA Nicole Rancourt and the Prince Albert Inn have also contributed.

Anyone looking to assist in the collection can contact either Botha or Burns.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr