‘Neighbours helping neighbours’

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This article was published 17/12/2021 (1414 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mrs. Claus and her elves are busy preparing for the holidays in a Fort Richmond home.

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer four years ago, Jaime Webster decided to stop treatment and “live life to the fullest.”

“It started with a bucket list and the sentence, ‘Save a neighbourhood,’” Webster told The Sou’wester.  “I had no idea how to do that, and then suddenly South Winnipeg Assists Santa existed. We didn’t save an entire neighbourhood, but we saved part of it.”

South Winnipeg Assists Santa, a community-run initiative aiming to keep the holiday spirit alive, is in its second year of creating Christmas hampers for families struggling to celebrate the season.

When a woman reached out to Webster last year asking if she knew community members willing to make them a hamper, that one family quickly turned into 13.

Toys “R” Us and Sobeys even got involved.

“This year, we’re helping one family where the father has brain cancer and the little boy sent me a Santa note,” Webster said. “All he asked for was his family to get better. He was like, ‘You can keep all my toys if my daddy would just get better.’ It’s heartbreaking to read them at times.”

This year, the group has 14 families they’re delivering hampers to.

The only criteria is families must live in south Winnipeg.

“Some are nominated, some are self-nominated. They write in and tell us about their difficulties. We don’t care about their financial status because, through COVID and everything else, everyone’s had some sort of trouble.

“It’s just about love, giving and doing everything we can to pull these hampers together,” Webster said.

Last year, people Facebook messaged her nominations. They now have a designated email address and spreadsheets to make the process more organized.

We didn’t save an entire neighbourhood, but we saved part of it.

The group has enough volunteers — or elves — for deliveries, but they’re still in need of perishable food items, like eggs, milk and bread. They are also asking for new or gently used toys.

It came “down to the wire” last year, too.

“I started mentioning to the community that we don’t have these things. Thankfully, we had an amazing man named Randy Clark, who unfortunately passed away, that helped. He was highly involved with the St. Nobert Farmers’ Market, and he happened to see the post. We had three or four families show up with $200 apiece.”

Donations can be dropped off on Webster’s porch at 86 Ryerson Ave. The group has until Christmas Eve to secure donations but they’re hoping to start delivering sooner.

“It’s important to me everyone knows I appreciate the efforts from the community for the community,” Webster said. “It’s just neighbours helping neighbours. It keeps the community spirit alive.”

More information on South Winnipeg Assists Santa can be found at www.facebook.com/groups/188432389568758/