November and December 2018 at the South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Society in Ashcroft
Wow, the past couple months just few by! In November the staff at the South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry (SCEFS) Office were preparing for December with all the different programs we were offering during the Christmas season.
November 2018
4th Annual Toys For Joys Breakfast in Ashcroft
November brought the application process for our 4th Annual Toys for Joys program where parents who need assistance with Christmas presents can come and fill out an application form. Our Toys for Joys Christmas breakfast was on November 25th (Sun.) where people came with a new unwrapped toy / gift for a child between the ages of 0-18 years of age and in return were given a pancake breakfast with sausages, scrambled eggs and drink.
At the 4th Annual Toys of Joys Pancake Breakfast, we served 52 breakfasts and were able to receive 45 toys and $376.15 in cash donations.
On toy pick up day, the staff set up all the toys and gifts in the room and the parents were able to “shop” for their children.
Donation from Arrow Transportation
With a huge donation from ARROW Transportation Ltd. this year of $5000 for our Toys for Joys program as well as what was accumulated from our pancake breakfast we were able to help families with presents for their children. Parents of 87 children were able to pick out two toys and a book this year.
Christmas Hampers with the Community Resources Society
Also in November, our office was again able to assist the Community Resource Society (CRS) with their application for Christmas Hampers. The application process for CRS Christmas Hampers was from mid-November to the second week of December and they were able to help over 150 families with Christmas dinner this year.
December 2018
Santa For Seniors at the Thompson View Lodge in Ashcroft
In December our office was busy getting gifts prepared not only for our Toys for Joys program but also with our Santa for Seniors program. We started the Santa for Seniors program last year as a pilot project and it was so successful that we decided to do it again this year.
Santa for Seniors program is where clients of SCEFS over the age of 60 fill out an application for things they would like for Christmas and a community member ‘adopts’ them and makes a Christmas bag for them.
This year we had over 40 Seniors and we extended the applications to the seniors up at Thompson View Manor, to both independent and assisted-living seniors. The SCEFS made anonymous Christmas bulb for a Senior and the bulbs went to local businesses for their staff to ‘adopt’ a Senior for Christmas.
We would like to thank the local businesses and their fabulous staff for making Christmas for a Senior merrier and brighter this season: Ashcroft Home Hardware, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, the Ministry of Child and Youth Mental Health, Interior Savings Credit Union and the Ashcroft RCMP detachment.
Donations from TECK Highland Valley Copper
On December 14th we had a couple surprise visitors from TECK Highland Valley Copper! Our friends Jacqui Schneider and Melissa Pinyon were in Ashcroft helping CRS with their Christmas Hamper packing and so Jacqui and Melissa dropped by the office. Not only did they surprise us with a very nice visit but they also brought TECK’s annual donation to our food bank program of $2000.
We had a very nice chat and have some plans for the spring - possibly partnering up for a small community event! Stay tuned!!
Food Bank Fundraiser with CP Rail Holiday Train in Ashcroft
On December 16th (Sun) at 8:30pm we had our annual food bank fundraiser with the CP Rail Holiday Train stop in Ashcroft. The weather was very warm and we had record breaking crowd attendance.
Food and Cash Donations from CP Rail and the Ashcroft Community
On the Holiday Train this year we had the Sam Roberts Band, Kelly Prescott and Sierra Noble as the entertainers – all of whom were just fabulous! And again we received a cheque for $5500 from CP Rail for our food bank program.
The great volunteers of SCEFS also collected donations at the event and we were able to receive 1170lbs of non-perishable food and $771.65 in cash donations. THANK YOU EVERYONE!
Our office closed for the Christmas season from December 24th to January 1st … the staff were all looking forward to the time off.
Thank You!
We would like to thank the communities in our catchment area for all their support and believing in the work that we do. We cannot do this work without the support of community.