They're not exactly elves, but a tight-knit group of volunteers will be running presents for Santa, to the delight of Acton residents this Christmas. Barb Edmundson is a longtime volunteer for Santa's Helpers. She spoke to Acton UP about how the charity was founded.
Dr. John Dougan, psychiatrist, had started a tradition of organizing an annual Christmas party for patients of the North Halton Mental Health Clinic.
"Because otherwise they get nothing, absolutely nothing, oftentimes," Edmundson said. A major motivator for the volunteers is the thought of group home residents going empty-handed on Christmas. Dougan postponed his retirement -- instead, he continued serving patients until the week he passed away.
"When Dr. Dougan died in 2009, a few of us got together and decided we still wanted to continue that. There were about six of us." It took over a year to formally register as a charity. In the meantime, they started giving out gift bags at Christmastime. Santa's Helpers personally delivers to group homes for people coping with mental health issues. Edmundson recalls a time when the residents' only had around $100 per month, from the government. “Out of that, they have to buy everything they need for a month. That doesn’t go very far. They never have their own little things.” The presents from Santa's Helpers includes toiletries, essential winter clothing, and, yes, goodies. Chocolate, colouring books, puzzles, and gift cards are included.
Without the donations compassionate neighbours make online or by mail, none of this would be possible. The initiative is largely organized by 3 people volunteering hefty amounts of time for free. In recent years, there has been a critical lack of funding. That issue led to cancellations of multiple Santa's Helpers' events including hockey games, a summer picnic, and a Christmas party. Despite this, the gift bags have always found a way to go on. A miracle befitting of Santa himself, the small band of volunteers delivered the gift bags despite the global pandemic last year. They used a no-contact delivery style. Unfortunately, Santa’s Helpers made the tough call to retract their charitable activities from Milton and Georgetown -- again because of lack of funding. They’re now focusing more intensely on Acton.
“Just to give them something to look forward to. Their days are all the same. A lot of them don’t have families they keep in contact with. They need teaching, they need entertainment," Edmundson said, "They’re people. They need to be loved."
To donate or help volunteer go to : https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c45afa62fabf58-gift1
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