The Martensville Fire Department is accepting donations for their annual Christmas Hamper Program. This program has been an integral part of the holiday season for many families within the community for over 25 years.
Each year, the MFD has approximately 25-30 families nominated to receive hampers, and Deputy Fire Chief James Taylor noted that without the Martensville Food Pantry and other community groups within Martensville supporting local families as well, that number would likely be much higher.
A large portion of donations made to the program come in through the local schools, who do their own collection throughout the month. For those that don’t have children in school, donations of non-perishable food items and hygiene products can be made at City Hall, where there is a collection bin in place. Items such as canned fruit & vegetables, packaged soup, dry pasta and sauce, pancake syrup & mix, toilet paper, juice boxes, stuffing mix, shampoo & conditioner, bodywash, deodorant, etc. are some examples of items that can be donated.
Donations can also be made via e-transfer to mfd@martensville.ca. Monetary donations will be used to help purchase fresh items and local gift cards to include in the hampers.
Nominations for families that could benefit from a hamper can be made until December 17th. To nominate a family, contact Martensville City Hall at (306) 931-2166 or email jtaylor@martensville.ca. Provide contact information for the family that you are nominating so a member of the MFD can contact them for details on their household.
“When we collect information on the families, we get the ages and genders of the children that are in the household because we get quite a few presents donated and we try to age match to the best of our ability. We never know what we are going to get when we are collecting donations, so we try to provide as much variety to everyone as possible,” Taylor said.
Christmas hampers will be sorted on December 17th and delivered on December 18th.
“There is a growing need in Martensville as it continues to grow, but it is incredible to see how the community steps up every year and it never ceases to amaze me. People are always willing to help out and the support is so appreciated,” Taylor added.
If there are extra items once all of the hampers have been distributed, the MFD will provide the remaining donation items to the MFP to help restock their shelves after the holiday season.
“This is something that we do once a year as a tradition, but the other organizations, like the Martensville Free Pantry, where they have an array of volunteers that are doing this work year-round deserve so much credit for everything they do for the community.”
