Paris Community Christmas Hamper Program gears up for another season of giving

By Casandra Turnbull

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Paris Community Christmas Hampers? Food collections and toy collections will start to take place across town – hosted by local schools, community groups, businesses and first responders –in the coming weeks. It’s a remarkable program that provides food security and peace of mind to families during the holiday season and one thing is for sure –it’s undoubtedly a communitywide effort that embodies the true spirit of the holidays

If you’re new to town, or don’t really know much about the initiative, let us shed some light on how this program started, how its grown over the decades and how it is making an impact in the community.

The exact origin of the Hampers is unknown, but it’s safe to say it dates back at least 30 years where the very first hampers were put together in Marg Knill’s basement Only a few residents received hampers at that time, recalls Shirley Simons She’s current Chair of the Christmas Hampers Committee, a position she’s held since the very beginning.

In fact, without Simons and few other founding members, including Marg, the program might not exist today

As the years marched on, the need continued to grow. It changed from a few hampers to dozens of hampers and eventually closed in on 100 hampers and then more During this time, the committee was growing too, and an annual tradition was well established. In recent years the committee distributed hampers to more than 150-160 families Paris and surrounding area thanks to the generosity of this community.

The need for Christmas Hampers grown, said Simons, due to an increase in population and inflation.

“The cost of living is continually going up causing this problem… today’s wage is not sufficient to cover all the everyday expenses,” she shared Christmas adds stress to families already living on a tight budget

So, from early November to midDecember, a committee of nine members, backed by close to 100 community volunteers, work in stride to make sure everyone wakes up with a smile on Christmas morning

As of November 1st, the County of Brant Customer Service office on Grand River Street North in Paris will put out applications for families to apply

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They’re already gearing up for this year’s food and toy drive with the application process opening on November 1st, 2024.