Let’s all take the time this Christmas Season to celebrate those who exemplify the Christmas Spirit. Christmas is all about giving and not the expectation to receive anything in return.
Organizations in our community like the Agapé Centre, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army and the St. Vincent de Paul Society make Christmas real for hundreds of residents of Cornwall and without those organizations it would not feel like Christmas for any of us.
This week saw the introduction of the familiar Salvation Army donation stations to our stores here in Cornwall. The proceeds from each red bucket go towards supporting someone less fortunate and each is manned by a volunteer.
This time of year especially, food banks and kitchens like the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Meals on Wheels and the Agape centre are relied on especially heavily.
The Agapé Centre saw a 25 percent increase in its usage in November this year compared to November 2015.
At least 500 families per month are using the Agapé Centre food bank and as many as 140 people a day use their soup kitchen.
One of the most popular items in the Agapé Centre food bank is peanut butter. Peanut butter just flies off of the shelves, because it is rich, filling and an easy source of protein.
The good people at Royal LePage took it upon themselves to conduct a fundraiser in November to collect as many jars of peanut butter that they could for the Agapé Centre. By the time they were done, Royal LePage was able to give the Agapé Centre 229 jars of peanut butter.
There are also volunteers who have given not just food, but real meals and their time to those who use the Agapé Centre.
The Agapé Centre’s Hungry Heroes program is setup for families or school groups who want to roll up their sleeves and get directly involved in giving this holiday season.
For $200 participants in the Hungry Heroes program can sponsor a meal and some of those heroes have even taken the opportunity to go to the Agapé Centre’s soup kitchen and prepare the meal themselves.
There were at least three school groups in November who came to the Agapé Centre to make a meal.
Sometimes the best gift that you can give at the holiday season is one you give to a stranger.
