Hundreds of South Cariboo children got the chance to choose some Christmas presents for their parents and caregivers at RE/MAX 100's Santa Workshop last week.
Organized by RE/MAX realtors, the multi-day event saw the RE/MAX 100 office transformed into a charming workshop complete with a dozen elves standing ready to help the children choose two gifts from over 600 gifts. Longtime realtor and lead organizer Michelle Lethwaite said that they saw around 250 children come to the workshop from Thursday, Dec. 5 to Sunday, Dec. 8.
"Everyone loved it. It was something new for the community, nobody had ever seen anything like this. There are lots of food drives (in the community) but this was something totally different," Lethwaite said. "It was super well received."
Lethwaite and her fellow realtors bought all the gifts on display with their own money. They selected a wide range of items including miniature blue tooth speakers, baseball caps, sunglasses, necklaces, bookmarks and dozens of other items. After the children chose their gifts, Lethwaite and the other elves would help them wrap and address their gifts for their parents.
It was heartwarming to watch the children select their gifts, Lethwaite said, especially when there were so many in the office at once. There were tons of smiles on their faces which she remarked was her favourite part of the market.
"A lot of kids don't have a lot of money or the capability to go to a store, so it was really exciting and empowering for them to come in and get something nice for mum and dad," Lethwaite remarked.
While the children shopped the realtors fed their parents hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies. One of those parents was Jadia John who accompanied her son Brody and his Grade One class to the workshop on Thursday. As her family recently moved to the community from Hope John thought it would be a great opportunity to get out of the house and get to know the community.
"I think it's really cool. I was surprised by the gifts RE/MAX was giving out and it's very well decorated here," John said. "The kids all look so happy and excited. I bet they just want to give their gifts to their parents right away."
Lethwaite said during the market RE/MAX ran a fundraiser for the 100 Mile Rotary Club's Starfish Backpack Program, with parents and children invited to donate whatever they could afford in exchange for the gifts. Starfish is a program that finds children within the local school system they believe don't have food at home. Once they identify them Lethwaite said they send the children home on Thursdays with a full backpack of food to help feed their family.
"Obviously it's a costly program. I think they spend between $300 to $400 a week. They thought they would have a small number of children but it turns out there is a huge need and they're going to need to start servicing other schools (outside of 100 Mile House) also," Lethwaite explained. "We raised over $500 and that's gone straight to the program."
When all was said and done Lethwaite said she was only left with a small box of leftover gifts she'll be saving for next year. She confirmed that her office is planning to run the workshop again next Christmas with a few new improvements and changes.
"We did really well and learned a lot. We've kind of come up with a few other ideas for how we'd want to do it better," Lethwaite remarked. "I think for our first show it was a huge success."
