Cornwall, Ontario – Cornwall’s Home Depot was transformed into Santa’s workshop Wednesday, Dec. 21, as employees prepared to deliver some festive merriment to local families in need. It was 3 years ago that Donovan St. Denis and the store’s management team decided that they wanted to do something more for the community around Christmas. With some significant help from employees, head office, and Baxtrom’s Your Independent Grocer, the team was able to once again pull off a very merry Christmas for 20 local families.
For the third consecutive year, Cornwall’s Home Depot associates made it their mission to provide 20 families with everything from food to gifts for the holidays. In partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cornwall, Community Base Case Worker, Vanessa Rabideau says that this charitable event helps local families in a big way.
“This meal allows families in need to buy a couple extra gifts for their kids, or possibly more groceries for the week while they’re off work for the holidays,” said Rabideau. “It just helps out our families that much more around Christmas time.”
The Home Depot approached Big Brothers Big Sisters and asked them if they had any families that were in need, and it turned out that they did. “We worked with them and decided we wanted to have a Christmas dinner for them and get some gifts for the kids,” said St. Denis. “They gave us a list of 20 families, which was comfortable for us.”
In just over a month, the team was able to provide over 60 children with something special to unwrap on Christmas morning. When The Home Depot’s head office caught wind of what they were doing, they contributed $1000 to the cause, which was used for further gift-giving efforts. In addition to the tremendous support of store associates, John Baxtrom of Your Independent Grocer was also able to offer a charitable discount on the food to help cover costs.
The day started early, with the team heading out to pick up food at 8:30 a.m. From there, they brought everything back to the store, boxing it all individually. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, cake, and everything else that makes up a holiday meal; the Home Depot elves made their list and checked it twice. Lastly, the Home Depot van was loaded up so they could begin delivering to each family.
“I think some people take having a great Christmas for granted,” said Rabideau. “And for those who don’t experience that, this is a way of trying to change that and showing them that people care.”
