On Thursday, December 17 between 40 and 50 volunteers gathered to pack and distribute Christmas hampers for 67 families that had pre-registered for special help at Christmas. What a delightful time of organized confusion. The day began with the Christmas assembly at Glen Orchard Public School where we were presented with a stage full of food collected by the students along with $147.00 as a result of a “Quarters Drive”. We brought the gifts of food back to First Muskoka Church basement to be added to the heaping mounds of food previously collected through Foodland in Port Carling and Freshmart in Bala and many community groups. The Fellowship hall was full of people and food. The community volunteers filled boxes appropriate to specific families, added some food gift cards, and then the hampers were either picked up or delivered in the afternoon. There were many hugs, a few tears shed, and memories made.
We would like to thank the many organizations and individuals that made this a success. Some of them are as follows: Dads of Muskoka, United Church ladies of both Bala and Port Carling, Port Lions, Township of Muskoka Lakes employees, Foodland, Freshmart, Morley Stevens Butcher Shop, Johnsons Cranberry Marsh, Muskoka Lakes Association, Moon River Ratepayers, Anglican churches of Bala/Port Carling & Milford Bay, Knox Presbyterian, the Legion, OPP, Glen Orchard Public School. A special thanks to First Muskoka Church for hosting the food drive and for hosting the Food Bank all year! Many individuals, too numerous to name contributed food and money. I am sure I have forgotten someone and apologize in advance. This was truly a community effort.
The gift of giving is what Christmas is all about. For those of us who are Christians we celebrate God’s greatest gift, that of Jesus by being His hands and feet as we walk in our community. For all of us of whatever spiritual tradition, or none at all, we can give thanks for our many blessings, and for that warm feeling in our hearts as we give some of what we have received to others. Thank you so much.