The Christmas spirit is in overdrive at the Sunshine Coast Elves Club.
This is their 40th year as a charitable society, and they are in the throes of organizing their annual telethon, on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 2 p.m. to midnight, broadcast live on Coast TV from the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse.
Family, friends and Coast residents are welcome to come to the theatre any time during the telethon to help out the entertainers by providing an appreciative audience. You can also make a donation at the theatre during the performances.
You will see and hear such diverse acts as Ashley Havtala, last year's talent show winner, the Coast String Fiddlers, Bad to the Bow, the Coast Academy of Dance, Larrie Cook's blues band, and many more. There will be a big sing-a-long with audience/performers/volunteers at the end of the evening with Cook's band, and many other surprises are planned.
MCs for this year include Roberts Creek musician and writer Michael Maser, St. Mary's Hospital CEO Gerry Parker, social media guru Duane Burnett, Margaret Page from Toastmasters, and more. It is going to be a fabulous show, and the Elves are looking for more sponsors and workers.
The telethon is a huge fundraiser for the Elves' Christmas hamper program, which distributes a turkey dinner and all the fixin's, plus other food staples and children's toys to families in need from Egmont to Port Mellon. Without the hampers, Christmas would be very difficult for these families. Last year, the club raised $22,000 and 760 hampers were delivered. This year, they are aiming for $26,000. If you are in need of a hamper to help out with your Christmas, please fill in a form and drop it off at the depot at Christian Life Assembly Church, 730 School Rd. in Gibsons, by 5 p.m., Dec. 8. All hamper recipients remain anonymous.
The Elves look to individuals and businesses on the Coast for support, and people from all walks of life pull together to contribute whatever they can. Right now, the big drive is for new unwrapped children's toys and donations. The drop-off is right across from SuperValu in Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons, so please stop by with your donations.
Hamper night is Thursday, Dec. 13, at Christian Life Assembly Church on School Road, and will continue into Friday beginning at 8 a.m. Hamper stuffers are badly needed, as are drivers with cars, trucks or vans for delivery of hampers starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15. The Elves have a special request for 4x4s or ski-doos for Porpoise Bay and Tuwanek deliveries if there is a snowfall. If you can volunteer, please contact Deanna Hovers at 604-886-0586 or the depot at 604-886-7743.
It takes a community to feed a community, and this year is no exception. Besides the many individuals who donate time, gifts, talent, money and in-kind services, many Coast societies and businesses are huge donors. The Gibsons fire department will be having their boot-drive; Holy Crap Cereal is donating 800 bags of cereal on delivery day; the Sechelt Indian Band donates, as does Marketplace IGA, GBS and the Coast Legions. The donor singled out for special thanks this year is SuperValu. They are always the main food donors, but this year the owner went even further. He asked his distributor to ante up. They answered in true Christmas spirit. Loblaw's is waiving freight charges on all food destined for Sunshine Coast Elves hampers.
