Young sisters Emily and Sarah Dahlgren have set themselves a big goal this Christmas: to fill 200 Christmas hampers with treats and snacks for clients of the Helping Hand Food Bank.
It’s not duplicating the Christmas hampers provided by the food bank. Those will include a ham or turkey, and all the fixings for Christmas dinner, plus fresh produce and enough non-perishable food items to cover the time the food bank will be closed for the holidays.
Instead, the sisters want to provide the “extras” – the treats, from chips to pickles, the festive napkins and chocolates that add to the holiday festivities, through their charity, A Bradford Christmas.
Each hamper will have approximately 17 items, purchased through their fundraising efforts and the support they have received from companies like Ad-dictive Design & Promotion, Air Star Packaging, Carlton Cards, Colt Paper, Conagra Brands, Costco, JD Irving Ltd., Nestle Canada, PepsiCo, Rice Group, Smuckers and Sweet B’s Confectionery.
To raise money, the Dahlgrens have been selling Christmas crafts at events like this year’s Pumpkinfest. They have held five fundraisers so far, and have two more planned before the hampers must be delivered.
They’ll be at BWG Celebrate Christmas this Friday at the BWG Leisure Centre, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. with their Christmas planters, signs and other crafts.
And during the week of Dec. 9 to 13, they will be going around to every Town of BWG office, and providing gift-wrapping services for a donation to town employees.
It still might not be enough to meet their goal, which is why Sarah and Emily are reaching out to the community, inviting residents to sponsor a family for only $50. Tax receipts are available for donations over $25.
For more information, or to help fill a festive hamper, email [email protected]. They plan to start packing the hampers on Dec. 12.
