Holiday gift card program to help needy kicks off for 35th year
Dryden’s Community Support Centre has officially launched its 35th annual Christmas Cheer Program.
The successful initiative provides gift cards in place of food hampers to help families in need over the holidays.
As the Community Support Centre’s executive director says, providing gift cards to applicants sets the program apart from traditional food banks.
“We didn’t want to duplicate that,” explains Debbie Dokuchie, adding the organization switched to gift cards during the pandemic. “So this helps people during the holiday season to spread those groceries out.”
She adds that every donation, big or small, will provide assistance to more than 300 families in need over the holidays.
People who are employed but don’t make enough money to cover the extras at Christmas are among those eligible for the program as are people receiving financial assistance or no assistance at all.
“This is the one time of the year, during the holiday season, they can have a little bit of automony,” says Dokuchie. “(They) can can purchase those items that are wants or needs within their family.”
Residents, businesses and community groups are encouraged to donate by December 1, which is also when the deadline for application closes on the organization’s website.