Two ways to help women and families facing a bleak Christmas

When you’re a woman coping with the fallout from an abusive situation, just making ends meet can take all your energy. And when the holidays come along, the idea of finding extra money for Christmas gifts can be crushing. That’s where two special seasonal initiatives come in: our Elf Express and sponsorship programs.

“The Elf Express is supplemental—it’s for women who may work or have a bit of a network, but who are barely scraping by. The sponsorship is more comprehensive. It’s for women who have no other support and very few resources,” says Chantelle Pelpola, a Women’s Resources outreach counsellor. The programs are for women receiving services from our organization; the shelter has its own program for women and kids seeking safety there around the holidays.

The Elf Express provides gifts of all kinds that women receiving services such as counselling or family court support from Women’s Resources can give to their kids—toys, gift cards, games, books, etc. Volunteers also put together special “pamper baskets” for the women, including special items like a candle, nail polish, books, scarves or bath bombs. Donations come from the public, who are welcome to drop them off (items should be new and unwrapped) at the Women’s Resources office on Russell Street in Lindsay before December 3.

The sponsorship program does more than just match generous donors with people in need. Chantelle and her coworker Shannon talk to each woman about her preferences and those of her children, including what they like to do, what their favourite colours are, what they need most, etc. The result is a detailed document a donor can use when buying items to give the woman and her family. “I spend a lot of time getting to know the family, what the kids like to do, what they like to do together. It takes the guesswork out of it for the donor and makes it more fun.”

Valerie (she wanted to be anonymous), whose family have been sponsors for four years, says this detailed information is a huge help. “We don’t want to buy something that doesn’t work for them. This way we’re making sure we get the needs met and then can add some fun things.” She and her husband wanted to give back to the local community and show their young children the importance of helping others. “The first year we did it we had a family with two small kids, and there was a six-year-old who needed a winter coat and boots. That broke my heart. I can’t imagine sending my child to school every day without boots or a warm coat.”

Not only does she remind her kids that they have a responsibility as a family to help others, Valerie also says it feels good to know you’ve done something for someone. “You’re hopeful that it’s accepted not as a handout but as a way to say, ‘Merry Christmas.’ You hope they open it and smile.”

There are also individual women in the sponsorship program who may be estranged from their children or living far away from any support system. In that case, the main criterion isn’t necessarily financial, Chantelle says. “They’re on their own and would otherwise wake up alone with nothing for Christmas Day.” She starts asking staff in September for their suggestions, compiling a list to be matched with donors. Some former recipients who have rebuilt their lives have even come back to be sponsors themselves, knowing how much the program means to the women and children it helps.

Whether the sponsorship comes from an individual, a family, a church or community group or a business, “It’s just beautiful. We’re speechless and the women are in tears.” You don’t have to be wealthy to be a sponsor, either. “Let me know what you’re working with and I’ll let you know a family that would be good for you,” says Chantelle, adding that she’s always there “to coach and guide.”

From individual donations of items for the Elf Express to the business that has sponsored as many as seven families, the Christmas programs are truly special, Chantelle says. “The generosity that pours in from this community is overwhelming.”

If you’d like to sponsor a woman or family this Christmas, please contact Chantelle Pelpola at pelpola@womensresourcesold.mydev.ca or 705-878-4285 ext 203.

By Nancy Payne