Bowden town council has given Bowden Silent Santas $1,000 to help cover costs for the program, which provides Christmas hampers for people in need.
Council also expressed interest in Silent Santas co-chair Shannon Webb's suggestion that the town set aside money each year in its budget for the program, rather than be hit by an unscheduled request for money every year.
During an appearance at town council on Dec. 14, Webb said that would help her as she adopts another new strategy: planning fundraisers throughout the year for the program instead of trying to raise the money in the last five or six weeks before Christmas.
Shannon and some councillors noted fundraising is becoming tougher due to the downturn in the economy. However, the downturn is precisely the reason the program is needed more than ever.
Shannon told councillors that demand for hampers has risen 22 per cent this year over last year; from 32 last year to 39 hampers this year.
ìWe have 27 school-age students that are (accessing) those hampers and that's approximately nine per cent of students who attend our Bowden school. So one out of 11 students in every grade is receiving a hamper this year,î Shannon said.
ìMy plans for next year are to do funding throughout the year so that in lieu of circumstances ñ people being laid off or lack of funding ñ I'm not blindsided the week before hampers are delivered, with no funding,î she added.
ì(That way) I have a way to turn around and say, ëOK, this is what I can do; I can go do a bottle drive, I can go do a bike-a-thon; I can go do different things to raise the downfall in money.î
Councillors suggested perhaps some kind of check stop could be set up to raise money, although they jokingly noted that may not work as well along Highway 2A as it would elsewhere.
Coun. Sheila Church asked Shannon if council does earmark funding for the program annually whether she'd be willing to provide an accounting to the town on how that money is spent.
Shannon said she would.
Mayor Robb Stuart said he's interested in the idea of setting aside money for Silent Santas each year but he said that would have to be weighed against other funding requests the town receives.
ìI think it's for a worthwhile cause,î he said.
Shannon said she'd also like to create greater awareness about the fact that the Silent Santas program exists in Bowden.
She said she recently talked to people who said they collected food donations for another community because they weren't aware of the local program.
Shannon said the hampers are extensive.
They include a turkey dinner, approximately two weeks of food plus gifts for all the children in the home.
ìAnd if funding provides, we like to put something in there for the parents because the parents are often forgotten,î she said.
In fact, Shannon said the value of those hampers can run in the $500 range in some cases.
She said some recipient families are ìlarge,î featuring six children and two adults.
ìI like Shannon's idea that maybe we would do this for budgeting purposes going forward,î Coun. Paul Webb said. ìFunding is dramatically different this year than it had been other years.
ìBoth private contributors and some of the larger, more institutional contributors have had to cut back.î
"My plans for next year are to do funding throughout the year so that in lieu of circumstances ñ people being laid off or lack of funding ñ I'm not blindsided the week before hampers are delivered, with no funding."SHANNON WEBBCO-CHAIRBOWDEN SILENT SANTAS
