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Over 781 Children Benefitted From Operation Sharing's Christmas Place this Year

Tuesday, 18 January 2022 12:22

The program provided gifts, food and clothing to 325 families, which includes 781 children in Oxford County.

WOODSTOCK - Operation Sharing's Christmas Place helped 325 families have a better Christmas this year.

The program provided gifts, food and clothing to 325 families, which includes 781 children in Oxford County. These numbers don't include those were served after the Dec 13-16 pickup of gifts at College Ave. 

Coordinator Kathy Gardiner says they were amazed by the response from the community. 

“We left any gifts we had left over at the church. This pickup was later than usual for the program I think that worked well.”

Several people stepped up to make this all happen, including Heart FM and 15 companies who collected gift cards and gifts to the cause. Gardiner says COVID-19 has changed the way they do things, as families no longer shop for the gifts and a lot of it is done through gift cards. 

“We probably had 20 or 24 volunteers. (In 2020), we had about 10, it was very busy. The volunteer numbers, that easily topped 100 in preCOVID-19 times, were lower due to the coronavirus, We are hoping (at some point in the future) to go back to the original model of (the) Christmas Place shopping for gifts by parents, grandparents, and kids. I would love to go back to
that.” 

Gardiner says the goal was to keep everyone safe, while still providing the same level of service to the community. 

The program ran in partnership with the Power of Hope and the Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County.

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