Coasters in need of Christmas hampers have just three weeks left to fill out an Elves Club application in person at one of eight locations.
The in-person application process was instituted by the Elves Club last year, in an effort to “have a little more accountability,” said Elves Club president Lynn Nestman.
“We just felt that it was a fair way of doing things. People had questions of ‘were we giving hampers to the proper people? How did we know?’ So what I did was I took a little time and I contacted the Vancouver Christmas Bureau (VCB) and asked them what they did,” Nestman said.
Not wanting to be as strict as the VCB, which asks for proof of income and refuses to give to people who own their own homes, Nestman said the Elves Club settled on having people show up in person (to show they live on the Coast) and produce proof of their dependants.
Originally the Elves Club wanted to get all of their application forms in by Oct. 31, however, Nestman decided to extend the deadline to Nov. 15.
In the past the Elves Club took applications into December, which left them little time to order food.
“The reason we do this now is the price of food has skyrocketed and we have worked very hard this year to improve the food in the hampers,” she said. “We’re giving them the choice of a turkey or a ham, we’re giving them cheese and eggs, things they’ve never had that we have to have exact numbers for before we order them, to keep our costs down.”
Applications can be filled out at the Seaside Centre in Sechelt, the Village Store in Lower Gibsons, Hair We Are across from Wood Creek Park, Loumidees on North Road, Mosey’s Boutique at Sunnycrest Mall, Ambrosia Health Food Store in Roberts Creek and at the Sechelt and Gibsons Ministry of Children and Family Development offices.
In Pender Harbour those in need of hampers are asked to call either Cyndy at 604-883-0432 or Betty at 604-883-9652.
Applications are also being provided to home care workers, Nestman said, to ensure people who are homebound can apply for a hamper.
“But if anybody’s stuck at home or anybody has issues with getting their hamper application in for goodness sakes, please phone us (at 604-886-3966). We’re not trying to make this a hardship, we’re just trying to better what we can put out and what we can give,” Nestman said.
The Elves Club depot will be set up in Gibsons during the first week of December to take donations of gifts from the public.
If you want to give a monetary gift before December it can be mailed to the Elves Club at Box 1107 Gibsons, B.C. V0N-1V0.
Nestman is also able to take donations of gifts at Hair We Are during the weekdays.
She’s looking for more volunteers to help organize hampers on delivery day (Dec. 20) and is also seeking someone computer savvy to help set up a live on-line feed of this year’s Elves Club Telethon.
If you would like to help please call Nestman at either 604-886-3966 or 604-886-2222.
