Christmas Cheer Board says $100K from province will help address growing demand

It’s a Christmas gift from the province that’ll keep on giving. 

Each year the Christmas Cheer Board of Winnipeg helps spread joy to thousands of local families and this year the province is joining the effort, offering up a donation of $100,000 on Friday morning. 

“This is the most wonderful time of year,” said Premier Wab Kinew at the announcement. “This is where we get a chance to show that generosity that defines us as Manitobans.”

The Premier commended the Cheer Board for their ongoing efforts to support Manitobans, saying the provincial government wanted to get in on spreading the joy, the province giving the local organization a massive novelty cheque while delivering news of $25,000 donations for Cheer Boards in Brandon and Westman as well. 

“So incredible,” is how the Cheer Board’s executive director Shawna Bell described the contribution. “To help us support families and individuals here in need in the city, it’s going to go a long way to making a very, very Merry Christmas for so many people here in Winnipeg.”

So far, 16,000 applications have been received, and Bell expects that number to grow to 22,000 by the end of the month, an increase of roughly 1,500 when compared to last year. She says the donation from the province will be a big help, as the costs of assembling the hampers have also increased. 

“While this money is more than we’ve received in the past, the costs are more expensive than they have been in the past,” she said. “So everything is just catching up to one another right now, so this is going to help us make sure we don’t go into a deficit this season.”

She estimates the province’s donation will allow them to make anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 extra hampers and says it’s always special to see families’ faces when they come to pick up the sources of seasonal cheer. 

“It just creates a sense of magic for everybody who has a touching point on this organization, that’s what we’re here for,” she said. “We just want to make the community a little bit brighter over the holiday season.”

Even with the recent donation from the province, the Christmas Cheer Board of Winnipeg is always looking for more donations and will be accepting hamper applications up until Dec. 23, 2024. 

More information can be found on the organization’s social media pages.