A Kiwanis tradition is helping families enjoy Christmas with a little helping hand. Children are recommended to the local Kiwanis Club by service agencies to receive a fun morning shopping for a gift of their choice, getting photos with Santa and enjoying sweet treats. It began 29 years ago at the Kiwanis Club in Northmount in Calgary, with Mark Anderson, who is now the past-president of the Okotoks chapter. The Northmount club had been working with women’s shelters and other organizations when an idea occurred to him. “I was sitting around and there’s all the stuff this time of year to donate things to kids,” said Anderson. “My thinking was, ‘Almost every kid is going to get something, but is it really something they want?’ “People mean really well, but you have these presents under the tree and you have no idea what you’re getting. So I kind of took a different approach.” Children came to Walmart in Okotoks on Dec. 16, where they were greeted by smiling Kiwanis volunteers who signed them in before they met Santa and had their photos taken. Then they were escorted to the sections of the store where they wanted to shop. Each child was allowed to choose a toy worth up to $40, and collected their photo from Santa before checking out. At the front of the store they were given treats and chose stuffed animals from a selection of donated toys courtesy of the Calgary Hitmen’s teddy bear toss. The Okotoks Kiwanis Club was set up to help 150 children this year, after giving gifts to 96 during its inaugural event in 2017. It’s come a long way since the first event in north Calgary, which saw 40 children come through the doors of a small toy store. Now, clubs in Airdrie and Cochrane also run the event at local Walmarts. Kayla McConnell, assistant manager at the Okotoks Walmart, said the store jumped at the opportunity to give back to the community when they were approached by the Kiwanis Club in 2017. “We were all over it because giving back to the community is our biggest thing here,” said McConnell. She said it takes a lot of work behind the scenes from 15 to 20 employees volunteering their time to run the cash registers on their day off, ensuring the toys are fully stocked before the doors open, packing up treat bags to be sent home with each child, and setting up Santa’s area and the snack tables. The store also provides carnations to moms as they help their children check out their new toys, she said. It’s well worth all the effort, she said. “Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces,” said McConnell. “It’s great to help them out and give them a Christmas they might not otherwise have.” Anderson said there is always an outstanding story that comes out of the shopping morning, like the young mother who was in tears the first year because her son had been able to choose something she never could have bought for him. “What kind of takes you back is, they’re supposed to go pick out a toy,” said Anderson. “There was one a few years ago and this mother was so frantic because she couldn’t find her kid, and we thought he must be in the toy department but he wasn’t there. “What had happened, the kid wanted to buy his mother something for Christmas.” It’s not a rare occurrence, he said. They’ve seen more than one child want to do something special for a parent when given the opportunity. That’s part of the magic of the event, he said. It’s also lots of fun for the volunteers. “When you see some of these kids, you just have to smile and you think, ‘That’s why we’re doing it,’” said Anderson. “The kids are getting something they’d never get, and the experience. This is one of those memories they’ll have.” Chris MacKay was at the store with his three children, who had been signed up by a friend of his ex-wife. They were all smiles as they walked into Walmart, had their photos taken and headed to the toy department. “They were so excited,” said MacKay. “It’s nice to do on a Sunday morning when it’s so close to Christmas and everything’s so tight all the time.” His seven, nine and 12-year-old children were thrilled to choose what they really wanted - a dart gun and two small drones. MacKay said it meant a lot for his family. “It just brings more joy,” he said. “It’s nice to have people giving to the community, and giving us more opportunity. “And they see the sharing, they see that people are there to help.”
