CHRISTMAS SHARING PROGRAM
BELLEVILLE INC.
Contact: Dianne Tedesco, Co-ordinator
Tel.: 613-969-1020 Fax: 613-969-4434
P.O. Box 22056, Belleville, Ontario K8N 5V7
The purpose of
the Christmas Sharing Program is to provide a confidential registry for
families needing special assistance at Christmas time. We provide food
boxes endeavouring to meet the extra-ordinary needs indicated on their
application.
Traditionally the Christmas Sharing Program has co-ordinated the Christmas
food boxes for families in Belleville and surrounding areas and at the
same time registered the family’s children for the
toy drive.
Did you
know that the Christmas Sharing Program got its start in 1967 with a group
of under-privileged city children and a train trip to Expo '67 in
Montreal? The program, now in its 38th year, has come a long way from
those 350 children to over 1120 families that are receiving help today.
The
purpose of the Program is to provide a food box that will allow low income
families to enjoy a festive Christmas dinner. Families must register for
the food box with the Christmas Sharing Program, and at the same time they
may register their children for toys, which are supplied by the Belleville
Fire Fighters’ Toy Drive.
The
whole program is overseen by a Board of Directors of 10 people from the
community. The Board and the many volunteers are sensitive to the
requirements of the Freedom of Information Act throughout the program.
Confidentiality is maintained to protect the clients and the information
on their application is used only for the purposes of the Christmas
Sharing Program. Our Program assists families as far west as Whites Road,
east into Shannonville, north to the boundary of Stirling and south to and
including Ameliasburg.
Letters
of appeal are sent out by the Christmas Sharing Program to all churches,
church groups, individual donors, schools, clubs, professionals,
businesses and corporations,. Many generous groups and individuals
respond to this letter, either by giving a donation (for which charitable
receipts are issued), or sponsoring a family through the Christmas Sharing
Program.
We are a
registered charity and depend entirely on funding from the community; we
do not receive funding from any other source.
Many
specially picked volunteers are recruited to assist in the office and with
the delivery of the food boxes. The Christmas Sharing Program Belleville
Inc. is a unique program. We oversee the applications of the individuals
needing help and in turn give out the names of families to sponsors.
We work
very closely with the Belleville Fire Fighters’ Toy Drive and the Quinte
Community Christmas Dinner to avoid duplication and assist in their
registrations.
In the
second year of the program, some of the funds were used to purchase
blankets or towels (providing that the funding is there). That aspect of
the program is still carried out today. These towels or blankets are
distributed by the Fire Fighters with the toy boxes. Donations of
mittens, scarves and toques are also distributed to the children of these
families.
It is
important to note that many volunteers are involved in our Christmas food
box program. Volunteers from schools, churches, businesses, corporations,
professionals, clubs and the general public all get involved. Belleville’s
citizens continue to be very generous to the Christmas Sharing Program,
making it much easier to assist the many families in need in our
community. We are very grateful for their generous and loyal support.
If there are any
questions about our program, we would welcome your inquiries. Please call
us at 613-969-1020. |