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BDSS and Bashaw Food Bank run joint Santa’s Anonymous program

Each angel on the tree has an age, gender, and gift ideas for the individual
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By Kevin Sabo

For the Bashaw Star

A community program hosted in partnership with Bashaw and District Support Services (BDSS) and the Bashaw Food Bank is back again for the 2020 holiday season.

The Santa’s Anonymous program is a multi-faceted program designed to help those in need during the season, established to help make sure that children had gifts to open on Christmas day and that families were able to celebrate the season with a Christmas meal.

The program is administered by BDSS, with applications for low-income families opening Nov. 1. After Remembrance Day, BDSS staff put up the Angel Tree.

“Each angel (on the tree) represents one individual, and each member of the family would have an angel on the tree,” said program manager Holly Chappell Benoit.

Each angel on the tree has an age, gender, and gift ideas for the individual. Once the tree is up, community members are welcomed to come into the BDSS office to collect an angel, or several, and buy a gift to donate.

People purchasing gifts for the Angel Tree are asked to spend between $20 and $50 for each gift, just to keep things consistent for everyone. All the angels on the tree are associated with a number, meaning that whoever buys for the angel doesn’t actually know who the angel is for.

“It’s all anonymous,” said Benoit.

The purchased gifts are then returned to BDSS, along with the angels. People who apply for the program also get a special Christmas foodbank hamper, consisting of everything needed for a holiday meal with all the trimmings. Families are given the option of turkey or ham, with the turkey’s this year being supplied by Bashaw Meats.

“We do food orders from the various businesses in town,” said Benoit.

The supplies for the rest of the meal hamper are purchased between Bashaw Foods, Bashaw Grocers, and chocolates are purchased from Pharmasave.

Once the gifts are returned to BDSS, the staff wrap the gifts on Dec. 21, and the hampers are available for pick up by the families on Dec. 22 and 23. Gifts purchased by community members need to be returned to BDSS by Dec. 18.

The Santa’s Anonymous program typically serves about thirty families in need every year.

“This year we’re already at 30, and with the new regulations we’re expecting closer to 40 families,” said Benoit. “Thank you to the wonderful community who has always supported this program. Without (you) this program wouldn’t run.”



Emily Jaycox

About the Author: Emily Jaycox

I’m Emily Jaycox, the editor of Ponoka News and the Bashaw Star. I’ve lived in Ponoka since 2015 and have over seven years of experience working as a journalist in central Alberta communities.
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