Chatham-Kent will be getting one big present this holiday season.
Organizers are putting the final touches on "The Gift", an initiative that will be taking place on Saturday. In a similar to the largely successful May 16th Miracle, which raised nearly 700,000 pounds of food for local food banks, residents in every corner of the municipality are encouraged to leave a donation on their doorstep for pickup. While the May 16th Miracle focused on food donations, The Gift is asking people to donate a wide variety of items to help people in need this Christmas across Chatham-Kent.
"Anything at all that speaks to you that you think someone in the municipality could use this holiday season," explained Planning Committee Member Brent Wilken. "Whether it be just one non--perishable item to toys for kids, a blanket for the homeless, socks for the homeless to a card for a senior. "
Wilken said so far, the support for The Gift over the last few weeks has been incredible from residents, businesses and the municipality itself. He added that so far, 2,500 people have registered online to volunteer on Saturday and the day following.
According to Wilken, organizers have been working alongside several different Christmas hamper programs from across Chatham-Kent, including the Chatham Goodfellows and Salvation Army.
Wilken said many of the organizations that are involved feared that the pandemic would put a damper on their usual holiday fundraising efforts.
"That's what spurred this," he said. "When the Goodfellows put out a release saying they wouldn't need as many volunteers this year and were switching to online, thinking it might be more of [a] down year in a year that we need it most. The mindset has gone from being a down year to finding more people than ever and being the best year."
Although organizers will be working with Chatham-Kent charities and organizers to distribute the donations, Wilken said people can also reach out directly if they know an individual in need.
"We're going to be encouraging everyone to find their neighbour, talk to your friend. If you know someone who's struggling and maybe they only trust you. If that's the case, come see us, get what they need and you can bring it to them," he said.
Donations must be out on Saturday by noon. If your house is missed or your donation isn't picked up, Wilken said organizers can be contacted at thegiftck.ca@gmail.com.
Monetary donations can also be made by visiting The Gift website.