living cover
community tradition is the annual Christmas Tree Festival,
presented by Stringam LLP. Last year, over 4,000 people
wandered through the doors of the ENMAX Centre during
the four-day festival to take in the beauty and the magic of
the winter wonderland created by the hands and hearts of
the Christmas Tree decorating teams, recalls Shonna Lamb,
Chinook Regional Hospital Development Co-ordinator. A
culmination of the event sees a live auction and gala. In
2016 they raised a record-breaking $150,000.
While some trees go home with the highest bidder, Shonna
points out that many trees are generously donated to
families, community organizations,
and non-profit organizations. The
Tree of Knowledge, decorated and
sponsored by the University of
Lethbridge, adorned with books
including those written by Canadian
authors, saw those books donated to
Magrath Elementary School by the
purchaser.
Sponsors,
decorators
and
donors are welcomed to the 25th
annual event which brings out the
generosity of the community in
multiple forms. Volunteers donate
their time, decorators offer their
inspiration and creativity for others
to enjoy, and donors offer financial
aid which Shonna regards as critical components of the
community-supported event.
“Each year we’re humbled and grateful for the amount
of people we meet who come by and glimpse this beautiful
space,” Shonna explains. “There’s something about
Christmas that tends to bring out generosity, nostalgia and
wonder in many of us. We see and hear it from the folks we
meet and visit with. It’s wonderful and rewarding.”
With images of majestic trees, the smiling faces of
children, and families gathered ’round celebrating the
spirit of the season, it is hard not to envision a festive table
with not only laughter, and sharing, but traditional foods.
Christmas Hope is the combination of a trio of agencies
— the Lethbridge Food Bank, Interfaith Food Bank, and
the Salvation Army — who have joined forces to streamline
holiday generosity. With a joint database to ensure services
aren’t duplicated, food and toys are collected within the
community, and distributed accordingly.
Maral Kiani Tari, Executive Director of the Lethbridge
Food Bank finds the partnership between agencies both
vital, and complimentary.
“I think it’s essential to partner together for Christmas
Hope because we will make sure we utilize the donations
properly, and as a trio we will be sharing resources and
expenses associated with our joint clientele. We won’t be
duplicating services,” Maral explains.
For 11 years, the Christmas Hope program has provided
food and toys to community members who are facing
challenges in meeting their own needs, and the holiday
season sees an increased demand. Maral notes 4,242
individuals were assisted last year. The Lethbridge Food
Bank alone serves between 700-750 households monthly,
with an additional 100-150 households at holiday time.
With extra hampers full of
additional holiday foods such as
turkey, ham, stuffing and cranberry
sauce, every household receives
more food than they would through
other months in the year. The extra
hampers see the organizations
having a greater call for not
only donations, but volunteers.
Arguably, it is the giving nature of
the Lethbridge community which
enables projects like Christmas
Hope to proceed.
“The generosity of the community
is unbelievable, and through the
Christmas-time you definitely see
that giving,” says Maral. “It goes
over and beyond which is amazing. We want to be sure that
every individual gets to celebrate Christmas the way they
would hope to celebrate it.”
From gifts under the tree, to a holiday meal on the
table, this trio of organizations fundraise and recruit to
raise the resources necessary to serve the community as a
whole. Yet other partnerships form among them. Individual
churches, businesses and corporations collect food and
toys. Additionally, the Interfaith Food Bank Society of
Lethbridge, the Lethbridge Food Bank, and Save-on Foods
run their annual Stuff the Bus Campaign the first Tuesday
of December and encourage the community to buy not only
for themselves, but for others.
Danielle McIntyre, Executive Director at Interfaith Food
Bank Society mentions that pantry items are most wanted
to fill the bus, but treats like candy canes and chocolates
help spread Christmas cheer. The idea is to make giving
convenient for donors.
“We want to be out in the places you’ll be, and we
encourage the organizations that you are with, and the
groups you participate with, to just encourage that giving
nature of the season,” says Danielle. She notes that the
These campaigns, and
the season, bring people
together to look out for
each other by giving,
sharing and caring for
each other, impacting the
place we live.
28 LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
NOV-DEC 2017