You won't see any Chatham Goodfellows standing at corners collecting money this year because of COVID-19 health and safety measures.
They won't be going to porches to collect donations either. The Goodfellows announced on Wednesday the 2020 porchlight and street sales campaigns have been cancelled. However, their 66th “No Child Without a Christmas” campaign will continue with a few changes to how they raise money and collect toys and food for families this Christmas.
"After discussions with Mayor Darrin Canniff and Dr. David Colby, Medical Officer of Health for Chatham-Kent, it is clear that the impact of COVID-19 will be that Chatham Goodfellows will not be able to fundraise and collect goods through the traditional Porchlight & Street Sales Campaigns," the Goodfellows' Board of Directors wrote in a statement. "We understand that Mayor Canniff and Dr. Colby have only the best interests of the community in mind. Chatham Goodfellows cannot safely and consistently socially distance while taking cash donations from people at store entrances or collecting food, toys and money from front porches."
The charitable group is also trying to decide how donations will be sorted but added children won't be left out in the cold this Christmas.
"Even with these challenges, Chatham Goodfellows are committed to ensuring that there will be “No Child Without A Christmas” this holiday season," the statement read.
Last year, Chatham Goodfellows packed and delivered food and toys for over 1,500 families. They anticipate the need will be greater this year and intend to meet that challenge. The porchlight campaign raised almost $44,000 last year and the street sales campaign raised just over $31,000.
A new strategy for fundraising and how to fulfill their commitment will be released this summer.
The Board of Directors also intends to hold a virtual Annual General Meeting this year to kick off the Christmas campaign.
Meanwhile, a very popular annual event at the St. Clair Catholic District School Board has also fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 'Christmas in Muskoka' event to be held in November in Chatham-Kent has also been cancelled.
The event is a fundraiser that allows students to go to leadership camp at Muskoka Woods each spring.
“There are several reasons for our decision and the first is safety,” said Shawn Moynihan, one of the key organizers of the event. “Christmas in Muskoka attracts large crowds and we have no way of knowing what restrictions on public gatherings will be in place four months from now.”
The organizing committee also cited it would be unfair to expect community businesses to again sponsor the event when many of them are struggling to survive.
"Many of these businesses have taken a financial hit. We do not believe this is the time to ask for their support,” says Gerri Brown, another of the event’s lead organizers.
The committee concluded by saying the event requires tremendous support from principals, vice principals and school staff and with the challenges and pressures of COVID-19, the additional demands of the 'Christmas in Muskoka' event would not be possible.
The organizing committee hopes this will only be a one-year hiatus and that the event will return in November of 2021.
“I want to thank the army of dedicated volunteers and generous and committed sponsors who work every year to make Christmas in Muskoka a success,” said Deb Crawford, Director of Education. “We hope to see them again in 2021.”
The school board said it's holding funds raised in 2019 pending a decision on whether the Muskoka Woods Leadership Camp will run in the spring of 2021.