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Creston Ministerial Association hampers fill Christmas need in community

Food, toys, cash, books and more now being accepted for Creston Ministerial Association’s annual project...
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(From left) Grace Christian Fellowship Pastor Stephen Schneider accepting a donation of cash and 25 boxes of items from Crest View Village Auxiliary members Lilley Hamula

With about 400 Christmas hampers to be packed this year, now is the time to donate food, toys, cash and more to the Creston Ministerial Association’s annual project.

For over 40 years, the association has filled hampers each Christmas season — with a peak of 485 requests in 2012 — to offer some holiday cheer to those in need. And last year, it took about 300 volunteers lifting, packing and sorting to make it all happen.

“We provide an exceptional experience to people coming to the rec centre,” said Tom Greentree, Erickson Covenant Church pastor and ministerial association president. “Last year, we had an incredible volunteer turnout.”

Volunteers may come solo or in groups — sometimes large ones. To help with organization, groups should contact Rev. Shelley Stickel-Miles of the Trinity United Church at 250-428-4015.

Far more significant than a good time for volunteers, though, is the work they are doing.

“The other side that is important to me is that it’s our own community we’re serving,” Greentree said.

In streamlining the hamper process, only those who want a hamper will receive one; well-meaning friends or neighbours have, in the past, signed up people who weren’t interested. Anyone wanting a hamper simply has to call a Creston Ministerial Association church or social agency by Dec. 12.

The hampers can be picked up at the Creston and District Community Complex on Dec. 16, after volunteers have spent Dec. 15 sorting and organizing donations (which should be brought to the rec centre by noon).

The hampers also include non-food items, such as books, through the Creston Valley Public Library and Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy’s Book Under Every Tree campaign, which collects new books at a variety of locations. Children’s toys can also be donated at Pyramid Building Supplies — simply visit the store, pull a tag with an age and gender from the Christmas tree, buy an appropriate gift, and return it unwrapped to Pyramid.

The ministerial association purchases gift cards for perishable food items, such as turkeys, and the program usually costs close to $25,000, so cash donations are vital to its success. Last year, the Advance donated over $9,000 received through its community Christmas card, in which donors’ name are printed in its Christmas edition.

This year, the Crest View Village Auxiliary, along with food and toys, donated a donation of $787.85 —all neatly rolled change.

“We got at least five boxes of teddy bears,” said president Clara Rushka.

And while the cash donations for the hamper project typically exceed the Christmas need, the extra money is put to good use, with the ministerial association covering a portion of dental and medical expenses, including travel.

“We take the extra money and spread it out over the whole year,” said Greentree. “The extra giving enables us to give year-round. It enables us as a community to care beyond Christmas.”