West Island Mission
"Believe it or not it's time once again for us at WIM to be
thinking of Christmas and we have already begun the process of planning our
largest event - our Christmas Basket Distribution. This year we are expecting
to serve approximately 300 families. The event will take place on December 13th
(assembling the baskets) and 14th (distributing baskets to the families). Most
of us don't want to be thinking about Christmas just yet, especially the idea
of the white stuff that usually comes along with it, but the reality is that at
West Island Mission, Christmas plans are well underway. We aren't ready to
begin the process of looking for volunteers for the actual event (except for
volunteers transporting items) but there are definitely many volunteer opportunities
coming up in the near future (even as soon as in a couple of weeks)!
TOY EVENT
After the success of last year's toy event, we are looking
forward to another year with a similar outcome... happy parents & happy
kids. On Dec 7th parents will come out to the “toy giveaway” and choose toys
for their children. After all, who knows better than “Mom” or “Dad” what will
excite and bring a sparkle to their kid’s eyes when they receive that gift?
Once again, there will be a wrapping station available to parents, allowing
them to wrap the gifts and keep things a surprise for their family holiday
celebration. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? That being said as you can imagine, it
will take many volunteers to make this event a success. Please see the bottom
of the email for all available volunteer dates and times for this event!
TOYS NEEDED
As in previous years, each child between 0-17yrs will be
receiving a new toy. We are asking for your help as we’re expecting around 500
children to be registered. December 7th will come quickly and in order to have
enough toys for all the kids, we will need to have all toy donations in to our
warehouse by Nov 29th if at all possible. Please do not wrap gifts but consider
donating wrapping paper or a gift bag along with your gift as families will
have the opportunity to wrap their gifts at the event. Below is a
list of what age groups/genders are most needed as well as some ideas for the
gifts. We ask that the price be between $10-$30. At the event, we will have 3
categories of gifts and families will have tickets to “spend” using more
tickets for larger items and less for the smaller ones. Maybe your co-workers
would be interested in participating in a gift exchange but rather than buy for
each other, you can buy for a child who might not be receiving much else this
year. After all, it’s much more fun buying gifts for children rather than
adults. Maybe your family and friends would like to participate. By Oct 31stwe
should have our completed family list and know with more certainty which
ages/genders are most needed. For now, below are the ages that are often in
short supply.
Our BIGGEST NEED, is for girls ages 8-12, boys ages 8-12,
babies UNDER 1 year & teens.
DO NOT NEED – boys or girls ages 3-7. That is except if they are lego
or dolls (particularly dolls of color). Those two things are very popular and
we could always use more because they are chosen first.
So there you have it. If there is something that has caught
your eye, or your heart, in the areas listed below, please contact me and I'll
get you hooked up with a team. I look forward to hearing from you.
There will be another email in about a month regarding
volunteer opportunities for preparing and delivering the baskets on Dec 13th
& 14th so be sure to watch for it.
Once again, I want to thank all of you for your
participation past and present with West Island Mission. Without you, "the
community", the work we do would not be possible.
Regards,
Wendy Gariepy
Operations
Manager - West Island Mission"
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West Island Mission (WIM) regularly provides well-balanced, high quality food assistance and other related aid, to the less fortunate living in the West Island of Montreal. Their mission and purpose is to seek out and make a difference in the lives of people who struggle with poverty; to see peoples' suffering and despair replaced by joy and hope. Annual Christmas Basket and Back to School Pack provision events are a central part of WIM’s programs.