As the snow begins to coat the ground and the holiday season approaches, many of us may be tempted to curl up at home and keep warm. But for the friends and folks at the Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy (CCPL), this is a time to come together as a community.
The organization’s annual Get Warm Potluck is just the place to do so, where friends, family, newcomers and strangers – soon to be familiar faces – mingle over a feast of international foods.
“Where there's food and where there's warmth people congregate, and they feel comfortable,” said Angelika Sellick, one of CCPL’s learning facilitators as well as the organization’s programs manager in Williams Lake.
This year’s potluck, which took place on Nov. 30, was CCPL’s biggest yet, bringing together over 80 people through word of mouth.
“This fills my bucket,” Sellick said, smiling as she thought about all the guests who arrived quietly, and how by the end of the event everyone was in full conversation while sharing a meal together.
Sellick, who coordinated the event, said the intention was to be inclusive to all. Rather than gathering around the theme of one specific holiday such as Christmas or Hannukah, the potluck is simply a way to encourage people to get out of the house and get to know the CCPL community.
CCPL is a small organization which helps with developing literacy in the English language, in finances, in family or in settlement and integration for newcomers. Connection is an essential part of the learning process, especially for those who are new to the community, and a potluck is a familiar way to spark conversation and show those involved they are not alone.
“A lot of the folks that we're working with are dealing with isolation...we all have times in our life where we feel isolated, particularly when it gets cold...So it makes a big difference to come to a place and connect,” Sellick said.
The potluck was open to all, but especially to those involved with CCPL in any minute way. The organization may be small, but its impact reaches far, and this was clear at the potluck where dishes were stacked with food from all over.
