By Brian Lawrence
Nearly five decades after it started, the Creston Ministerial Association’s Christmas hamper program is an integral part of a happy holiday season in the Creston Valley.
And to Dana Sproule, the associate pastor at Erickson Covenant Church, it’s a prime example of the community’s volunteer spirit.
“I had not seen anything like the community participation,” said Sproule, who is no stranger to helping those less fortunate, having worked in soup kitchens and shelters. “You would be hard-pressed in Creston to find anyone who doesn’t know about the hamper program.”
Sproule came to Creston from Halifax, N.S., in November 2016, just as that year’s hamper program was getting underway. As with last year, when about 460 hampers were requested, packing was done by volunteers of all ages and walks of life, including some who needed their own.
“A number of people help with the program for two full days, and right at the end they pick up a hamper for themselves,” she said. “Those don’t usually go together — there’s usually a stark line between giving and receiving. That line doesn’t get crossed often, and I was impressed with the way people moved back and forth in Creston.”
As usual, anyone wishing to receive a hamper must request it personally, by calling or visiting a social service agency or most churches by Dec. 12. They will be packed on Dec. 17 and must be picked up the following day.
The “hampers” are actually large boxes generously stuffed with non-perishable food, toys, gifts, books, and other items to ensure a happy holiday season. While some of the staples are purchased, the community donates a lot of the extras, such as Sproule said, boxes of knitted gloves and mittens.
This is the 27th year that Pyramid Building Supplies has participated in the hamper program with its Wishing Tree, from which donors can pick a tag with a child’s gender and age, then buy an appropriate gift, and drop it off, unwrapped, at Pyramid.
The Creston branch of the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy is again hosting A Book Under Every Tree, accepting new and like-new books for children, teens and adults at Kootenay Employment Services, Valley Community Services, Black Bear Books, Kingfisher Used Books, Pealow’s Independent Grocer, Save-On-Foods, Creston Valley Public Library, Erickson and Canyon elementary and Prince Charles secondary schools, and the Creston Valley Advance.
But specific items aren’t enough. The hamper program costs over $20,000, so monetary donations are also appreciated and collected at various locations around town, including a mid-November silent auction at Sue’s Clotheslines (which raised $13,599.76 from 2013-2017), and the community greeting card in the Creston Valley Advance, which totaled $11,700 last year.
The ministerial association also hosts a carol service each year; this years runs at 7 p.m. Dec. 9, with donations going to the hampers. Any leftover cash goes into the ministerial association’s benevolence fund, which offers community members support for a variety of needs, medical and otherwise, throughout the year.
The hamper program has come a long way since its origins when it was established to provide a Christmas dinner. It now makes possible a bright and merry Christmas season.
“We do whatever we can to stock the cupboards in a season when finances are tight,” said Sproule. “There are so many extra expenses in December. Your heat is on, your gas bills are coming in. I don’t think anybody is under any illusion that we’re solving it, but we’re trying to make sure cupboards are full in this season.”
