Work experience and much more at the Christmas Cheer Board

Alyssa Jansen has gained far more than just work experience during her three weeks with the Christmas Cheer Board of Winnipeg.

“Meeting all the volunteers has been one of the best parts,” said Jansen, a second-year creative communications student at Red River College Polytech majoring in public relations, who finished her work placement at the cheer board Friday.

“Everyone here has become like aunts and uncles to me now, basically.”

That sense of connection should come as no surprise. The charity relies on more than 400 volunteers, many of whom have been helping out for well over a decade.

“This is their Christmas tradition to take a few months, a few weeks, a few days out of their holidays to come be here. That’s been really, really cool to see,” said Jansen.

“Especially the full-time volunteers and staff here, this is their Christmas. They’re going home on the 24th and that’s when they’re going to wrap all the presents for their family and have their one day of personal Christmas. But it’s not about that for them. They’re willing to spend their holidays here so they can make that tangible impact.”

Jansen’s been putting her communications skills to good use by helping the cheer board with its social media presence in various ways. She created content highlighting a visit from Manitoba Moose players who were on the hamper-packing line, as well as a video of warehouse manager Rick Gill explaining the process of putting more than $900,000 worth of goods into boxes to help others.

She’s also experienced first-hand the hard — yet rewarding — work the volunteers do. She’s taken several turns on the hamper-packing line and has helped deliver a few of the finished products to those who have pulled up to the pickup location at 1441 Main St.

“It’s the coolest part, because you get to see the people that everything is for,” said Jansen.

This season, the cheer board will assemble 21,000 hampers for families across the city.

“I think it’s really humbling, because I’m just bringing boxes out to people’s cars and you get to see how much something — like just having groceries for dinner — means to people. And I know it’s more needed this year than ever with grocery prices continuing to increase. It’s not a small gesture, it takes a lot of stress out of people’s lives,” she said.

“It’s humbling, because you see all that gratitude and I’m, like, ‘I didn’t donate this food’ but I get to be on the receiving end of people’s gratitude. It’s very powerful.”

Shawna Bell has been the executive director of the cheer board since 2021. Seeing someone new experience everything that makes the organization so special never gets old.

“I really do think there’s a sense of community that anybody that comes into the cheer board can take away from it. With our aging population of volunteers, it’s always good to bring some new, fresh eyes on site and give them a chance to get to know us a bit, and hopefully, we’ll see them come back,” said Bell.

“Everyone has busy lives, especially when you’re a student finishing your program. Maybe we won’t see you again next week, but maybe we’ll see you five or 10 years from now.”

The goal of the work-placement program is to give students invaluable experience outside of the classroom that will prepare them for their careers after graduation.

Jansen got to check that box while also giving back to her community.

“I’ve gotten to do whatever I can to make people’s lives easier. Everyone is so generous with their time, even just by being here, but they have to wear so many hats, and there’s so much going on, so by being able to be here, we’ve said it time and time again that I get to do all the things that people wish they could do if they had the time,” she said.

“Whatever I can do in the three weeks I’m here to make people’s lives easier is a win for me, so, that’s pretty great.”

taylor.allen@winnipegfreepress.com