Dana Stefanson, board of education trustee for Subdivision 5, assembles a Christmas Hamper in December, 2021. (submitted photo/Horizon School Division)

By Doug Lett

school christmas hampers

Horizon School Division hamper program growing

Nov 22, 2022 | 10:00 AM

Horizon School Division has launched its ninth annual Christmas hamper program.

The school division announced its board will once again match cash donations of up to $5,000 to support the project, which has seen hampers delivered to 2,467 children in 951 families throughout the division over the past eight years.

“The generosity of our communities is second to none,” Kevin Garinger, director of education for the Horizon division, said.

And the program is growing. In 2014, 98 children from 46 different families received hampers, according to Jesse Green, the division’s communication officer.

“In 2022 right now the list is at 426 children from 155 families, so the need has increased over the years,” Green said.

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She said the program works through notifications from school principals.

“We’re notified from our school principals of families who could benefit from some help around the holidays, and we collect donations throughout the year and use that money to collect gifts for the children and the families and the families also get a grocery store card for a local grocery store,” she said.

Besides cash, the hamper program also takes donations for personal hygiene items, non-perishable food items, and clothing.

“We have knitted toques we get as donations, and homemade blankets. We get financial donations, we can issue a cash receipt and our board will match those,” Green said.

She said division employees always contribute generously to the hamper program, and said many local businesses do as well.

The hampers are assembled at the division office in Humboldt in early December, and then sent out to as many schools as needed.

The division operates 43 schools across east central Saskatchewan, from Wakaw and St. Brieux in the north, to Holdfast and Ituna in the South.

You can donate by contacting the Horizon School division office.

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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @DougLettSK