Christmas Cheer sets target, seeks new location for next year

Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer is hoping to raise $75,500 in donations this year — enough to fill 1,200 Christmas hampers for families in need.

The board also launched a public appeal for new warehouse space on Monday, following what was described as its likely “final meeting” at its Rosser Avenue headquarters.

The fundraising target is lower than last year’s $90,000 goal, largely because the organization received a significant provincial contribution that strengthened its financial position, spokesperson Synthia Wright said.

“We were very lucky that we got a really great donation from the NDP government when they sold the U.S. liquor at last Christmas,” Wright told the Sun.

“We are starting out with $14,000 in our piggy bank right now from last year’s campaign, and we’re only going to need up to 75,000 this year to meet our needs.”

Beyond fundraising, the organization is preparing for another busy Christmas season, with demand expected to exceed the number of hampers it can prepare at its current facility.

Wright said the organization received more than 1,700 referrals last year and managed to prepare about 1,300 hampers in its workshop, with 389 families supported through its Adopt-a-Family program.

However, the physical space available has become a major limitation, particularly because larger families require more than one box.

“We’re very lucky with our volunteers. We have lots of people who volunteer to help, but we just don’t have the physical capacity to meet that,” Wright said.

“Our mission is families first. Families who have children; those are the applications that we will absolutely try to honour. But we feel we’re solid at 1,200 this year. We probably can’t fill more than 1,200 applications.”

The organization is encouraging businesses, families and individuals to participate in its Adopt-a-Family program to help support households beyond its direct hamper capacity, board vice-chair Myrna Lane said.

Through the program, participating families and businesses receive information about the household they are adopting, including its grocery needs and the ages and genders of children, allowing them to purchase food, Christmas dinner supplies and gifts.

Lane said Sobeys South also helps make the process easier by allowing people who adopt families to provide the hamper details to its staff, who can prepare the groceries for purchase.

The store offers adopters its lowest prices for food items throughout the year, she said, while stuffed animals collected through the annual Brandon Wheat Kings Teddy Bear Toss are also available for families adopting households with children.

Meanwhile, Christmas Cheer is looking for a community partner with warehouse space to accommodate its operations beginning in 2027.

Wright said the organization has occupied the basement beneath the Brandon Public Library for 11 years, with the City of Brandon providing the space at no cost.

“The City of Brandon has been very generous, giving us this space for free for 11 years. But now we’re being asked to vacate and find somewhere new,” Wright said.

The board is seeking a heated and secure warehouse where it can store materials from January to October before opening the space for its busy November and December operations, Wright said.

“We’ve got lots of wants on our criteria list, but most of all, what we need is a single-level facility that is heated and secure, and that volunteers would feel comfortable coming (to) and that we could get our work done in the seven weeks of our very busy season,” Lane said.

The organization, Wright said, would be open to a location in Brandon’s North Hill or industrial areas and is encouraging businesses or property owners with suitable space to contact the board.

Wright said interested community partners can reach the organization at xmaschr@gmail.com.

Despite the fundraising and relocation challenges, Christmas Cheer continues to rely on community donations and fundraising events to support its annual campaign.

This year’s planned activities include a Christmas market at The Dock, two Fill the Bus fundraisers, the Teddy Bear Toss, a Christmas Cheer breakfast and a Don Amero concert at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Dec. 13, Wright said.

Wright said the organization has also partnered with the Keystone Centre and the YMCA to provide additional donation drop-off locations for residents who may have difficulty accessing its downtown workshop.

Non-perishable food items and unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the Keystone Centre box office or YMCA box office, Lane told the Sun.

“For every dollar donated to Christmas Cheer, 92 cents of that dollar goes into our hampers. Our overhead is very low because we don’t pay rent or utilities. Your dollar literally goes to the families in need,” she said.

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