MOONLIGHT MADNESS December 2 & 3 - 9am - 9pm Savings throughout the store!
HENDERS DRUGS 1220 4th Street, Estevan 306-634-3666
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020
Festival of Trees ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
ESTEVAN, SASKATCHEWAN
There’s No Place Like Home Edi on
Going for the ball From left, Mason Yunick, Brody Cancade and Tyler Gillies went for the ball during the Estevan Sharks Water Polo Club’s cohort showdown Thursday night at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre. Sharks players were divided into teams for competitions. For more on the event, please see page A13.
Deadline to apply for a Christmas hamper is this week; Angel Trees are in place By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca
The Community Hamper Association has been extremely busy throughout the past few weeks, trying to accommodate the increased demand. Many residents have already applied for their Christmas hampers, but the organization expects to see more applications coming before the end of the week. Char Seeman, who is the cochair of the association with Heather Woodhouse, said the demand this year is very high. As of Monday afternoon, they were at 278 requests for hampers and 370 requests for toys through the Angel Tree program. Last year by the end of the season they had 312 hampers applications in total, and Seeman expects that they will surpass this number this year. "Usually about this time, not even into December, we are maybe at 100 hampers, we just opened it up. It's usually just starting to roll in, and
we usually take them right up until the 24th of December," Seeman said in the interview with the Mercury. Due to COVID-related precautions, the hamper association had to implement a hard deadline this year, and they will stop accepting applications on Dec. 5, which will allow them to safely prepare and distribute hampers. "Because of COVID you have to follow a lot of rules and regulations, so we have to have a hard deadline. And people really need to get (applications) in on time," Seeman said. There is no limit to the number of applications the association will accept, as long as they are submitted before the end of the day on Dec. 5. Seeman said that this year they see a lot more families applying for hampers. They also see an increase in single older couples, who don't have kids and who probably have lost their jobs and can use some help this year. The Angel Tree program, associated with Community Hampers has also seen a significant increase in demand for Christmas presents for children. The
three trees are located at Walmart, Your Toy Store and More and Mr. Mikes Steakhouse Casual. "It's been amazing, there's been lots of donations dropped off," said Seeman. Encompass Fitness is doing a toy drive and is also helping the Estevan Kinettes to collect pyjamas for kids, alongside Jenny Joans and Sun Country Hearing. Angel Trees will keep accepting donations up until Dec. 12, after which all toys will be quarantined for 72 hours and then organized for the toy store. Volunteers will also have to do some shopping with cash donations to ensure there are presents for everyone who applied. "The older kids from 10 to 16 is who we are going to need the presents for. Everybody likes to buy for the young ones, doesn't like to buy for the older ones," Seeman said. Once the deadlines are passed, the volunteers will proceed with getting hampers and toys ready to go. Seeman explained that this year they celebrate leaving the worries aside at least for some time. A2 » DEMAND
An Angel Tree is set up at Your Toy Store and More – one of three Angel Trees in the community.
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Sale ends December 31, 2020 FIND OUT MORE AT FINDYOURFORD.CA
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118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 www.senchuk.com