Representatives from the five agencies in the Central Interior Community Services Co-operative are sharing in the food and toy donations raised during Signal Point Gaming’s second annual Festival of Trees.
Thirteen non-profit community organizations decorated trees for the festival which are decorating the Signal Point entrances through the holiday season, says Shawna Phillips, Signal Point general manager.
Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 17 visitors who donated a food item or a gift for a child were given a ballot to vote for their favourite tree.
This year Phillips says the donations will be shared between the five Central Interior Community Services Co-operative agencies to provide support for families and individuals in need.
These groups include the Williams Lake Boys and Girls Club, Cariboo Chilcotin Child Development Centre, Women’s Contact Society, Cariboo Chilcotin Metis Association and Canadian Mental Health Association Williams Lake Branch.
CDC executive director Nancy Gale says the food donations and toy donations will be sorted to provide assistance to individuals and families which the five agencies have found to be in need over the holiday season.
The group receiving the donations Wednesday, counted more than 1,000 food items, a small amount of cash donations, and many, many toys and some beautiful hand made baby quilts which would be counted and sorted for distribution at the Women’s Contact Centre.
Gale says the co-opertive members have identified a few more families this week who will be in need of help over the holidays.
She notes that some of the food donations will also help to feed youth who may be at risk of being homeless.
In the second part of the Festival of Trees event, the three trees receiving the largest number of votes from the public will share in Signal Point’s Found Money Fund for the last quarter of the year, Phillips says.
Phillips says the three winning trees will be announced next week.
Phillips says she is very pleased with how the Festival of Trees was supported by the community this year.
“It’s all about the Christmas spirit and sharing in the joy of giving to someone else.”