Peg City Kindness Crew hosts Christmas Market in Winnipeg to support Hamper Program

People were coming out in droves to the Hilton Winnipeg airport hotel on Sunday for the first annual Christmas market hosted by the Peg City Kindness Crew.

The event featured 60 local vendors, with all proceeds from table fees and entry fees going towards the nonprofit organization’s  Christmas hamper program.

“It takes a village, and we are so incredibly grateful for our village and how everybody pulls together to help,” said Deanna Stroud, a co-founder of the Peg City Kindness Crew.

“We wanted to do something that was a little bit different to try and raise funds for the holiday hampers that we have, while also featuring local businesses and vendors because we have a lot of talent here in Winnipeg, so we thought it would be a good mix to do the two.”

The Christmas hamper program first began in 2020 with group of friends trying to help those in need. Now in their fifth year, they added the Christmas market to help boost donations, to keep up with the growing demand.

“This year we so far have had 630 applications.  We have paired up with sponsors 31 of those, so we are still trying to fill 599 families that are requesting a little bit of extra help this year. We do a variety of posting online and advertising and just trying to get the word out that this is what we’re trying to do. And whether people are just sending a donation, and it goes directly towards them, or if they’re taking a family, either way, our goal is to pair everybody up,” explained Stroud.

For the local vendors that purchased tables in the event, it’s a great opportunity to not only showcase their products but help people in need in the process this holiday season.

“We try to give back whenever we can, especially with Peg City. They do an amazing job for very little ‘thanks’,  which to me means everything.  When you’re doing it despite the fact that you’re not getting thanked, or not always being acknowledged, and yet you still keep going, to me that’s very important and it shows some true heart,” said Tod Allen, a co-owner of On Tap Event Services.

Sean McCarthy, the owner of The Local Sticker Shop added, “It means so much.  You know, this is an important time of year for a lot of people, and to really reach out to the community, and give back, as a small business, it means a lot.”