Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 17, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - As in years past, many Northerners are sharing their good fortune to help the needy enjoy Christmas.

Several efforts are underway to collect donations of food and gifts and make sure they get to the people who need them.

Edna Dow, co-ordinator of Secret Santa in Hay River, displays some of the gifts donated to the Christmas collection of food and gifts for the needy. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

In Hay River, the annual Secret Santa collection began Nov. 12.

Edna Dow, the co-ordinator of Secret Santa, said donations usually pick up in the first week of December, but that hasn't happened this year.

As of Dec. 11, Secret Santa had collected only about half of what it would normally have, and was only one-third of the way to its targeted donations.

"Hay River has got to hurry," Dow said. "At this point last year, we were busy. We weren't sitting here waiting."

Despite her concerns, she still believes Hay River residents will help as in the past.

"I'm worried, but I'm not, because Hay River always comes through," she said.

It is important for people to help the less fortunate, she said. "It's the right thing to do."

Secret Santa distributes gifts and food hampers, including a turkey dinner, to families in Hay River and Enterprise and on the Hay River Reserve.

Last year, it gave out 139 hampers and hundreds of gifts to children and adults.

In Fort Smith, a Christmas food and toy distribution takes place each year at Extended Hand, a food bank and goodwill store associated with the Pentecostal Church.

On Dec. 8, firefighters with the Fort Smith Volunteer Fire Department went around the community to collect toys and food.

"It was a great food and toy drive," said Dianne Benwell, the manager of Extended Hand.

Benwell said people are also continuing to drop off items at the Extended Hand.

"It's like a good warehouse," she said. "There's plenty for people."

While the collection of donations is not finished, Benwell said, "It's looking good."

The Extended Hand provides turkey dinners with all the fixings to families for Christmas dinners. For single people, the organization gives a ham instead of turkey.

On Dec. 3, it also hosted a sit-down Christmas dinner for more than 80 people in need.

In Yellowknife, the Salvation Army has a Christmas Adopt-A-Family program and also distributes hampers.

Cheryl Thomas, the church's special events co-ordinator, explained that, under the Adopt-A-Family initiative, businesses or families buy gifts and food to fill hampers for anonymous needy families.

"We try to adopt out as many families as we can," Thomas said. "It gets the community involved more."