You can still sign up for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Hamper program until the end of this week.
Major Debbie Allen, the Church’s pastor, you can still register until Friday, Dec. 1 by calling the church at 705-746-5391 to book an appointment.
“Once they have their appointment, they’ll come in and go through the registration process. They need to bring identification for every member of the family and have an idea about what their income and expenses are just so we can do a ballpark there. Then we give them an appointment to pick up their hamper,” she says
Allen says for people with children, they’ll get an appointment to actually shop in the Salvation Army’s toy shop to choose toys for their children.
According to Allen, the hamper is made up of a box with fresh and canned vegetables, a turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and all the fixings.
“Sometimes we have some extra things, box of chocolates or last year we had so much pancake syrup and pancake mix, so they got breakfast thrown in. Singles and couples get gift cards so they can go and shop at No Frills for what works for them,” she says.
Allen says the hampers are funded by the Christmas kettle money, adding they are also supported by the Rotary Club of Parry Sound which does a lot of fun fundraising and helps pack the hampers.
“[The Rotary Club] has advertising all over town about donating $40 per hamper to cover the cost. It’s hard to know what the price of a Turkey these days, but because we can buy in bulk and the fact that the No Frills really supports us and they look for deals for us and often give us a nice discount,” she says
Allen says right now the best help they need is people to contribute.
“This year, with things costing more, we anticipate that perhaps the hamper will cost us more than $40 a piece. We’re looking to the continued generosity of the community of Parry Sound and surrounding communities to help make sure that all the families in need, and I think they’ll be more this year than last, and the singles and couples are able to enjoy a good Christmas this year,” she says.
Allen says people come to pick up the hampers starting the 11th of December.
