Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 10/99) - Single mom Marie Flanagan is doing her best to raise her two children with the money she receives from income support.

But when Christmas rolls around, her stress levels rise. Her seven-year-old daughter, Krista, has prepared a list for Santa. It's a small one, but hard for Flanagan to fill.

Her son Paul, five, is autistic. Even if she did have the means to fulfil her children's requests, Paul requires 24-hour supervision, which makes it tough for her to get away.

"I don't care about myself during the holidays, but I do want to make Christmas special for my kids," said Flanagan.

"But financially, it's almost impossible. I receive just over $800 a month, and there's no holiday bonus on Income Support."

Last year, Flanagan's family enjoyed a hamper from the Salvation Army's Adopt-A-Family program. She said it made all the difference in the world.

She remembers her daughter spent months asking for a Mealtime Magic Baby Doll. Low and behold, it was in the hamper they received.

"For me to watch how overjoyed she was to open it, well, I think I was happier than she was," said Flanagan.

"It's a year later and she still plays with that doll."

Also in the hamper were clothes for the kids, as well as toy trucks, cars, and trains for Paul. Perhaps more important was the food.

"The food in that hamper kept us going for a couple of months after Christmas," said Flanagan.

"There was everything, including treats for the kids that I can't usually afford."

Peter Skoropad is co-ordinating the Adopt-A-Family program for the Salvation Army. He said they've received just over 200 applications for Christmas Hampers this year, and of those they've adopted out 133 families. They expect to have more than 300 applications before Christmas arrives.

"There will be lots of families who don't get adopted. We prioritize families with children and they are the ones we adopt out," said Skoropad.

"We supply a good amount of food through our Salvation Army hampers, but the Adopt-A-Family hampers are extra special because they involve community members contributing to the well-being of a family."

Yellowknife businesses, individuals and organizations who participate in the program agree to prepare a hamper for a family. They don't know the names, just a profile of the family, including age and gender of the children and an indication of what they might like. It's all done anonymously.

Braden-Burry Expediting is a Yellowknife company that really gets behind the project. Last year, they adopted 16 families through the Salvation Army program. This year, they are taking on 22.

"The first year was last Christmas. We were talking about our Christmas party and client gift lists and somebody suggested we do something different," said staff member Barb Le Mare.

"We were spending a lot of money every year on Christmas gifts for clients, and we agreed that they would probably appreciate the gift of giving more."

Once they decided to join in the Adopt-A-Family program, they sent letters to their clients telling them what they planned to do instead of giving gifts. They did the same again this year.

"We were able to adopt more families this year because we're cutting back our Christmas party to a staff-only pot-luck party. We are also donating the money we normally spend on ordering Christmas cards to the Salvation Army," said Le Mare.

"After we did it last year I asked everyone what they thought. They all agreed that it was the best thing we ever did. We really feel like we made a difference and we hope other businesses will follow our lead."

And maybe, just maybe, one of the hampers they put together will be making the Flanagans' Christmas that much brighter.

"I'd like to say to whoever prepared our Christmas hamper last year, thank you. It was greatly appreciated," said Flanagan.

"I'd also like to say to whoever is helping us this year -- thank you in advance and have a wonderful Christmas."