This Christmas marks the fourth year The Salvation Army in Yorkton has partnered with SIGN Positive Impact to bring Christmas hampers to the Kamsack area.
Each November, The Salvation Army food bank begins collecting applications for hampers. After providing some basic information about members of the household, applicants then choose either a toy or food hamper.
Candice Nelson, Impact Social Worker with SIGN Positive Impact, scheduled days at several locations around Kamsack to help complete and collect applications before sending them to The Salvation Army in Yorkton for final approval. The Salvation Army in Yorkton then spent most of December putting together hundreds of food and toy hampers using donations from the Christmas kettles and others donors.
In 2017, the first year of the partnership, The Salvation Army handed out vouchers for Legacy Co-op Kamsack Food store, but has since changed to actual food hampers. It’s hard to imagine how many boxes, turkeys, and bags full of toys a vehicle can hold to bring to Kamsack.
“To be honest, in 2018 we were not prepared for the 53 food hampers (each including a turkey and a box of food), and seven toy hampers we needed to transport to Kamsack,” said Nelson. “Thankfully, as we were running out of space, a colleague from New Beginnings in Kamsack offered a covered trailer and we were able to fit everything.”
Determined to not have that problem in 2019, with the help of a Norquay Co-op delivery truck, Positive Impact was able to bring 73 food hampers and 15 toy hamper to Kamsack. Applicants were given a pickup date and time and the hampers quickly disappeared to happy households. Feeling like they had a good handle on how the process would work, COVID-19 threw them a curveball.
“I was determined to make this year work,” Nelson stated. “I wasn’t sure how many applications would come in. Would there be less because people were staying in, or more because of an increased need? How would we get the hampers to people? How many could we transport with the Norquay Co-op truck?”
As with many things, when COVID-19 is involved, the questions are plentiful and the answers are few. But on the morning of December 17 the Norquay Co-op delivery truck pulled up to The Salvation Army food bank in Yorkton, loaded up and headed to Kamsack. The Duck Mountain Motel parking lot became a loading zone for the numerous delivery vehicles.
While observing COVID protocol, teams from Saskatchewan Health Authority Public Health, Kamsack Family Resource Centre, Indigenous Services Canada Outreach and Mobile Nurses loaded boxes of food and a turkey or ham, and delivered to homes all over Kamsack, Cote, Keeseekoose, Key, Pelly, and Norquay.
The next day, the remaining food hampers and toy hampers were delivered, ensuring that 676 individuals would enjoy the 114 hampers over the holiday season.
This Christmas marks the fourth year The Salvation Army in Yorkton has partnered with SIGN Positive Impact to bring Christmas hampers to the Kamsack area.
Each November, The Salvation Army food bank begins collecting applications for hampers. After providing some basic information about members of the household, applicants then choose either a toy or food hamper.
Candice Nelson, Impact Social Worker with SIGN Positive Impact, scheduled days at several locations around Kamsack to help complete and collect applications before sending them to The Salvation Army in Yorkton for final approval. The Salvation Army in Yorkton then spent most of December putting together hundreds of food and toy hampers using donations from the Christmas kettles and others donors.
In 2017, the first year of the partnership, The Salvation Army handed out vouchers for Legacy Co-op Kamsack Food store, but has since changed to actual food hampers. It’s hard to imagine how many boxes, turkeys, and bags full of toys a vehicle can hold to bring to Kamsack.
“To be honest, in 2018 we were not prepared for the 53 food hampers (each including a turkey and a box of food), and seven toy hampers we needed to transport to Kamsack,” said Nelson. “Thankfully, as we were running out of space, a colleague from New Beginnings in Kamsack offered a covered trailer and we were able to fit everything.”
Determined to not have that problem in 2019, with the help of a Norquay Co-op delivery truck, Positive Impact was able to bring 73 food hampers and 15 toy hamper to Kamsack. Applicants were given a pickup date and time and the hampers quickly disappeared to happy households. Feeling like they had a good handle on how the process would work, COVID-19 threw them a curveball.
“I was determined to make this year work,” Nelson stated. “I wasn’t sure how many applications would come in. Would there be less because people were staying in, or more because of an increased need? How would we get the hampers to people? How many could we transport with the Norquay Co-op truck?”
As with many things, when COVID-19 is involved, the questions are plentiful and the answers are few. But on the morning of December 17 the Norquay Co-op delivery truck pulled up to The Salvation Army food bank in Yorkton, loaded up and headed to Kamsack. The Duck Mountain Motel parking lot became a loading zone for the numerous delivery vehicles.
While observing COVID protocol, teams from Saskatchewan Health Authority Public Health, Kamsack Family Resource Centre, Indigenous Services Canada Outreach and Mobile Nurses loaded boxes of food and a turkey or ham, and delivered to homes all over Kamsack, Cote, Keeseekoose, Key, Pelly, and Norquay.
The next day, the remaining food hampers and toy hampers were delivered, ensuring that 676 individuals would enjoy the 114 hampers over the holiday season.
