‘Christmas in a hamper’: Sharing holiday joy

• Kelowna and District SHARE Society
• Adopt-a-Family Hamper Program
• Connects sponsors with families in need

It was a sprinkle of Christmas in November for families in Kelowna.

The Kelowna & District S.H.A.R.E. Society helped spread a little joy with their annual Adopt-A-Family Hamper Program on Saturday.

Families joining the program were interviewed and set up with a sponsor. Volunteers helped children pick out some gifts for their families and a special guest was there too.

“We’ve got wonderful volunteers we call elves, our elf team. They’re doing some wrapping, helping with kids [to] pick out gifts, and just having some good fun in here. We even have Santa Clause around,” Kaitlyn Hilder told Kelowna10.

The S.H.A.R.E. Program Coordinator describes the baskets as “an entire Christmas in a hamper.”

They include a wide range of items where the sponsors can get creative while shopping for their partner family. They can choose to purchase a variety of items and food, or to give gift cards to grocery stores instead. Sponsors can also do holiday activities with the family such as going to the movies or a restaurant.

“Sponsors have so much fun doing the shopping, wrapping everything up, and then getting to meet the families is an awesome part of it, too,” Hilder said.

Due to the pandemic, there are more people who need help this year. The organization normally has around 70 families sign up, but that number has increased closer to 100.

“We’ve done our best to make sure we’re able to meet that demand. There are a lot of families that are still having a hard time this season.”

To meet demand, S.H.A.R.E. has opened applications until Nov. 16 and it include options for all types of family models including seniors, partners, and couples.

“We’ve really opened it up to make sure every type of family can get what they need and the support they need for the holiday.”