U can’t touch this

Robbie Scott stood in the middle of the Dakota Collegiate gymnasium, decked out in a costume that combined the spirit of the toy soldiers from the Nutcracker and the board game Connect 4, complete with a stuffed turkey as a hat.

Welcome to Hampertime 2025.

As he elicited cheers from the roughly 500 students and teachers that packed the gym, Scott, the man affectionately known as MC Hamper, oozed enthusiasm and spoke with pride as he rattled off the list of things “Hamper Nation” had accomplished during its annual drive for Miracle on Mountain and the Christmas Cheer Board.

In the 23rd year of Dakota’s Hampertime event, Scott, along with 20 staff members and 75 students collected 3,100 food items for the Rene Deleurm e Centre, sent 54 volunteers to pack 250 hampers for the cheer board, delivered 40 hampers to Dakota families in need and raised $7,349.34 for Miracle on Mountain.

“Even around this area, there’s been a lot more need over the last few years,” said Hampertime co-chair Jessica Kolisnyk.

“A lot of these kids, if they have the means to give, they are giving money, food items and their time. The kids see the need and they have big hearts, so if they can help, they do.”

Hampertime was the brainchild of former Dakota Collegiate teacher Heidi Murray and it has grown exponentially over the past two decades.

“This project has always been about empathy,” Scott explained. “It was started by an art teacher who passed away (in 2006). She did it in one class and put together three or four hampers. She pulled me aside when I started teaching here and said ‘we should make this a school-wide project.’”

“If kids walk out of here thinking that caring about other people is something we can do, that’s awesome. It’s so cool to see that and to feel that. Selfishly, as an adult who is living in a world where there are some bad things going on, it gives me great hope for the future to get to work with young people like this. It’s inspirational.”

During a 10-day span this month, the students at Dakota Collegiate bonded in their effort to collect donations and the most-needed hamper items.

The result is a show of generosity and holiday spirit and the recognition of how this ability to connect can help lift the spirits of many.

During the assembly, the Dakota Collegiate drum-line, guitar group and the pep band united in playing a series of songs, augmenting the high level enthusiasm that was prevalent throughout the program.

“A lot of these kids, if they have the means to give, they are giving money, food items and their time. The kids see the need and they have big hearts, so if they can help, they do.”

“We understand that in these economic times, not everyone can give,” said Scott. “A lot of the people who volunteer are people who might be getting a hamper or have got a hamper in the past.”

Some of those families and students end up giving back in years that follow, recognizing how big a difference it can make in the community.

Kolisnyk noted many retired teachers return to show support and that students from Dakota Collegiate either contribute or remain part of the Hampertime program long after they graduate and move on to the next phase of life.

That level of investment is part of what helps Hampertime grow.

“This is something where there has been a lot of time and effort put in. People want to see the legacy of Hampertime go on. It makes me happy because you know that people are doing the right things for the right reasons,” said Kolisnyk.

“There is lots of good in the world.”

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