Community pulling together to help neighbours in need

Southeast Calgary community pays it forward Two women from a southeast Calgary community have launched campaigns to spread a little joy over the holidays. Kevin Fleming reports

Calgary — For the holiday season Evelyn Tanaka is including gifts in the little free library on her front lawn.

“Just little things for the kids,” said Tanaka. “Because it’s been such a rough year for so many families and we really wanted to share some kindness and reciprocity.”

Tanaka has lived on Elgin Meadows Circle in southeast Calgary for four years. She’s has had a community library on her front lawn for almost two years. Her sister-in-law made it for her birthday. It’s regularly used by her neighbours and now they’re helping keep it filled with gifts.

“I opened it up to the community and said if you have enough this year and you would like to give back, it’s just something small that we can all do to show some kindness,” said Tanaka. “It’s been fantastic.”

On a Facebook buy/sell group Tanaka posted “if your family is struggling to put presents under the tree for your kids this year, please feel free to come and grab a gift, one gift per child please.”

The gifts are wrapped and have a label suggesting who they might be appropriate for. She hasn’t seen anyone take a gift, but knows they are going out.

“Gifts are leaving and that’s awesome,” said Tanaka. “I don’t ever want anyone to feel ashamed of taking a gift that they are in need this year - so  we leave it pretty private so they can feel good about taking.”

Kids don't have lunches

Melissa Brown also lives in the community and heard from her son that there are kids at school who don’t have lunches, and with that Brown decided to start the Mckenzie Towne help-a-family holiday hamper initiative.

With some assistance from local schools she was able to identify almost 20 families, with a total 36 children, in need of a hamper.

“We’ve worked on a whole Christmas meal as well as gift cards so the families can go and purchase gifts for their children or other essentials that they might need this year,” said Brown.

In just three weeks she’s been able to raise $6,165 in donations from people in the community, other parts of the city and Saskatchewan where she is originally from.

Brown has been in contact with the families on her list to let them know what’s coming.

“It’s been overwhelming,” said Brown. “It’s brought me to tears quite a few times, just the thanks. There was one family I talked to on the phone and he’s a dad of five kids and he was in tears and I was in tears.”

The initiative is also helping people in need in the neighbouring communities of New Brighton, Auburn Bay and Copperfield.

Brown and Tanaka are teaming up to make sure they help as many people as possible this holiday season.

“Some of my excess gifts that are not being taken or moving quickly I’m going to give to Melissa for the hamper project to help out families in need in Mckenzie Town and surrounding areas,” said Tanaka. “I also took a few gifts and dropped them off to my friend Jocelyn in Renfrew for her little free library to hopefully kick start a little project there too.”

The Christmas hampers will be delivered on December 19. Learn more about the help-a-family initiative here:www.riendo.ca