Cheer Board wraps up challenging campaign with hope for 2022

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This article was published 08/01/2022 (1719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For 102 years, the Christmas Cheer Board has made positive things happen for families in need over the holiday season.

Without any financial support from the government, the community has kept it running 100 per cent of the time, almost exclusively on volunteer power.

Major donors, including Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg Free Press, Industrial Truck Service and St. Vital Centre, have offered invaluable support for years, and more recently Two Small Men with Big Hearts, Print Pro and Wawanesa have joined them.

“We are so very lucky to have such key supporters year over year,” Cheer Board executive director Shawna Bell says in the wrap-up to the 2021 campaign. “With a deep commitment to the community, their generosity and willingness to help out keeps us going.”

“Our partners’ donations year over year extend beyond financial support,” says board member Denis Bourgeois. “Whether it’s helping us move a warehouse or hosting a toy drive, the investment our partners have made in the Christmas Cheer Board helps us focus on the purchase of toys and goods, or in the case of this year: food vouchers.

“Each year, the Cheer Board welcomes hundreds of volunteers. With only one full-time, year-round staff member, we rely on the investment of time that our volunteers bring,” Bourgeois said.

“In years past, we’ve had school kids from Grade 3 and up join us, packing hampers. We hope to bring that experience back in 2022, as it’s a great way to educate kids on the important work the Cheer Board does, and also engage a new generation of volunteers.”

For Bell, the many stories that have unfolded over the years express the pivotal role of the Cheer Board in people’s lives.

“Whether it’s the mom who couldn’t afford gifts and food for her kids and relied on the Cheer Board to help out 20 years ago, or the child who is now an adult and fondly remembers her parents making the arrival of the hamper a special and exciting experience for the entire family — each story has its own place in our hearts,” Bell said.

“The high school band a couple of years ago, who offered to come and play for our volunteers and hamper recipients: they spent the afternoon with us and made it a wonderful experience for everyone.”

“The Cheer Board is about hope,” Bourgeois adds. “The hope that we are able to make a difference in the lives of people when they need us. The hope that kids and adults know that they matter and that someone cares so very much.”

Less space for the Cheer Board this year has been a challenge, but the volunteers made the best of it.

“Our volunteers are the driving force behind this organization,” says Bourgeois. “Whether it’s the long-serving volunteer who comes to the warehouse each and every day to ensure hampers are ready to head out the door or the volunteer family who comes together to spend time brightening a complete stranger’s day, we don’t exist without them.”

“With concerns around COVID, we opted to stick with vouchers again this year. It’s certainly made the smaller space more workable,” says Bell. “We also haven’t been able to welcome the same volume of people into the building, but our team worked hard to ensure hampers got out and that kids left with big smiles.”

The board is in search of a new warehouse space close to city centre and bus routes. Bell says approximately 40,000 square feet of space (able to collapse in the off-season, January to September, to about 8,000 sq. ft.), two loading docks and a large parking area are needed.

“We’re hoping to find a community-minded individual or organization with the space. Someone who is willing to work with us on a potentially seasonal operation. We are extremely flexible and very open to considering different options.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca