While Christmas is still several weeks away, the Ashcroft and Area Community Resources Society (CRS) is already hard at work organizing this year’s Christmas Hamper program.
The program has been operating for nearly 30 years, providing households with a seasonal hamper of goods. It is completely separate from the South Cariboo E. Fry food bank in Ashcroft, and Esther Lang, the program’s organizer, says that CRS is not in competition with the food bank.
“We’re a different organization. If people want to donate to one or both of us that’s absolutely fine. The Christmas hampers are something special once a year, while the food bank is year-round.”
Last year CRS provided 161 hampers to households in Spences Bridge, Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Clinton, and the surrounding area, as well as members of the Ashcroft, Bonaparte, High Bar, and Whispering Pines bands, and Lang expects that number to be higher this year.
“The number of people serviced by the food bank has increased, so the need for Christmas hampers has probably increased in the catchment area as well.”
Lang says that with the cost of groceries having climbed, approximately $150-worth of groceries goes into each hamper. In past years the hamper program appealed for food donations, and members of the public could make cash donations through local businesses.
However, the CRS no longer has space to store food, and will not be soliciting donations from the public via local businesses. Instead, the CRS receives donations directly from businesses and organizations in the region. “A whole lot of them are good to us,” says Lang.
So good, in fact, that this year CRS was able to offer a special “Christmas in July” event which utilized some of the leftover funds from last year's hamper program. The event provided gift cards to 99 households in the region, with participants able to choose two gift cards from Safety Mart, Desert Hills, or Fields (a gas card was also offered, to help people with transportation costs).
The hamper program could not run without a dedicated team of volunteers. It takes up to two dozen people to help sort, arrange, and pack the hampers over three days, and Lang says she has a dedicated team of regulars who always seem to want to come back to help with that part.
Where they could use help, she adds, is with drivers who are able to deliver five to seven hampers each in Cache Creek or Ashcroft. “Those are the only places we deliver to,” explains Lang. “Clinton firefighters deliver to Clinton, and Mavourneen and Jim Ryan deliver in Spences Bridge.”
This year’s deliveries will be made on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 21. “Vivian Edwards does all the mapping and routes and puts all that together,” says Lang, and anyone who is interested in doing deliveries can call Edwards at (250) 457-7081.
Applications for hampers can be made throughout November. In-person applications are preferred, and applicants must provide photo ID and proof of residency. Application dates are:
Cache Creek (The Equality Project, Stage Road)
Monday, Nov. 18 and Tuesday, Nov. 19, noon to 2 p.m.
Ashcroft (E. Fry Society office, Bancroft Street)
Tuesday, Nov. 19 and Wednesday, Nov. 20, noon to 2 p.m.
Bonaparte (Health Centre)
Friday, Nov. 22, noon to 2 p.m.
Spences Bridge (SBID building/old school)
Friday, Nov. 22, 1 to 3 p.m.
Applications in Clinton were taken on Nov. 5. Anyone who missed, or who misses, the in-person application days can apply during a very short, controlled telephone call-in from Nov. 25–27 only, and from 1 to 3 p.m. only on those days. Nov. 27 at 3 p.m. is the firm cut-off for applications.
In Ashcroft, call Trish at (250) 453-9656
In Cache Creek, call Esther at (250) 453-9085
In Spences Bridge, call Vivian at (250) 457-7081
In Clinton, call Chris at (250) 453-9534.
While CRS is not soliciting donations from members of the public, such donations are always gratefully accepted. Anyone who would like to donate can mail a cheque (payable to Ashcroft and Area CRS/Christmas Hampers) to P.O. Box 1137, Ashcroft, B.C. V0K 1A0. You can also send en e-transfer to ashcroftcrs@yahoo.com (subject: Treasurer/Christmas Hampers).
