Excited voices fill the shop; tiny hands give carefully saved change over the counter. Cheeks flushed and eyes shining, they clutch their packages with glee — Christmas shopping is done for the juniors, and they can’t wait to surprise mom and dad with gifts they picked out all by themselves.
Santa’s Hut, a program designed to give kids a chance to buy Christmas gifts independently and in a budget-friendly way, is in need of donations to keep its shelves full. Already in its 25th year, this program spans six different communities, offering brand-new, donated items to children 14 and under for kid-friendly prices—$.25 to $6.00. All proceeds are given to the West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre.
“This program is geared to build the self-esteem in the children of our community by allowing any child an opportunity to buy new gifts for their parents, grandparents, and siblings,” says an ad by Santa’s Hut. The communities served by this program are Coleville, Eston, Eatonia, Kindersley, Marengo, and Rosetown.
Donations of new, unwrapped gift items, gift wrapping materials, and/or cash are needed to keep this empowering program open for the kids in our communities. Items usually in shortage are gifts for men, teenagers, and boys, but this year has a shortage in nearly every category. Donations are never wasted, as items not purchased that year will be kept and brought out again for the next.
Donations can be dropped off at each drop off station in the six communities. For Coleville, the location is Rossville School and Bredy’s Country Store; Eatonia United Church for Eatonia; Nic’s and Cuts for Eston; and Kindersley Mall and West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre for Kindersley. Rosetown has several different locations, including the Pharmasave, the United Church, and the Bargain Store. Marengo has the Alsask Post Office, the JC’s Little Valley Store, the Co-op store in Hoosier, Westcliff School and the municipal office in Marengo.
Donations will be accepted up until the day before the shopping begins. To receive a tax-deductible receipt, be sure to keep all receipts from your purchases, and present them at the drop off location at the West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre on 1st Avenue West in Kindersley. The shopping schedule is as follows:
Coleville—December 1 3-5:00 p.m.
Rosetown—December 2 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Eston— December 4 2:45 – 5:00 p.m.
Marengo— December 7 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Kindersley—December 16 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth School
Contact Kindersley’s local coordinators, Misty Leismeister and Doreen Gramlich for more details.
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