Give the Gift of Dignity this Holiday Season

Our Community Resource Centre is hard at work making sure that individuals and families are ready for the upcoming holidays. From warm winter wear to having food over the holidays, each day our Community Resource Coordinator is meeting with individuals and families from Chestermere and SE Rocky View to ensure their basic needs are being met. Every year, the Community Resource Centre partners with the Chestermere Regional Food Bank and SE Rocky View Food Bank to support over 40 families throughout the area with the annual Christmas Hamper Program. With the support of your donations towards Christmas with Dignity, we are able to provide these families with the financial means to purchase a gift for their immediate family members this year, as well as, have money put towards their groceries. Our local food banks provide our registered residents with a hamper filled will all fixings to make a wonderful holiday meal. These next few weeks will be a very busy time for our staff and our families as we all prepare for the holiday season.
Despite all the excitement and cheer that accompanies the holidays, our Community Resource Centre supports residents who are experiencing difficult lows at this time of the year. With families still figuring out their new normal after the July floods and additional households that have been impacted by the changes in the economy, these families are travelling unknown paths in the coming months. The Community Resource Coordinator supports residents’ with attaining a healthy, safe, and sustainable living situation. This is achieved by working alongside individuals and families to meet their basic needs, as well as, inform them about information and resources that gives a hand up to those who are experiencing difficulty and distress.
Your donations continue to have an impact on our residents who access the fund throughout the year. The Community Resource Coordinator was able to work with a local family needing support with warm winter wear, food, and financial assistance. Living with chronic pain and working tirelessly to make ends meet, *Macy and *Larry are trying their very best to ensure their children’s basic needs are cared for. This local family required winter clothing and boots for both their children who had outgrown their clothing from the previous year. As the weather was getting colder, the parents reached out for support to access our warm winter wear programs. After meeting with the family, it was further acknowledged that additional support was needed to help with their medical expenses. The family’s prescription expenses are now up to date, and the family is awaiting assistance from the Provincial program – Assured Income of the Severely Handicapped. The family continues to work with our Community Resource Coordinator to make sure the entire family’s needs are being met not only during this holiday season, but into the New Year. Macy and Larry’s family would like to share their appreciation to the program and everyone who supports it throughout the year.
Join us on Saturday, December 12, 2015, from 11 am – 2 pm at the Chestermere Municipal Office for our annual Christmas with Dignity Celebration event. This day is dedicated to raising funds for local individuals and families throughout the area. From our popular Children’s Christmas Store, silent auction, a visit from Santa (11:30 am – 12:30 pm), face painting, arts and crafts station, to local musicians playing and singing for our guests, it is surely an event you would not want to miss.
Christmas with Dignity was established in 2007 by members of Community Services. These funds are used to support our local individuals and residents with covering damage deposits, first month’s rent, dental bills, transportation, utilities, medication, and etc. The program is accessed as a safety fund after all other funds have been exhausted, cannot be accessed, or are pending. For more information about Christmas with Dignity, visit www.chestermere.ca/cwd.
*Names have been changed.