MINDEMOYA—It is the smiles of the children that will get to you every time.
The basement area of the Trinity Manitoulin United Church in Mindemoya was packed with children this past Saturday as they had the opportunity to choose the perfect gift for all members of their family, including their pets, from the stocked tables of items set up in the room as part of the annual ‘Kids Shop Free’ event.
“We certainly have lots of items on hand for the children to choose from,” said Tom McQuay, one of the organizers of the annual event. When asked about how the community response (which is always tremendous) in supporting the event by donating items was, he said, “we even had some individuals who used their own money to buy new items, and some even went to the dollar store in Espanola to pick up some of the items.”
“Yes, we’ve had some very good donations again this year,” said Marion Sloss, another organizer of the event. I think everything was very well received and it was fun talking to the kids when we were wrapping the presents they had selected.”
This was the fifth annual children shop for free event, where children under the age of 12 were welcome to shop for mom, dad, sisters, brothers, grandmas, grandpas and their pets. Children fill out a list of who they are shopping for and receive a corresponding number of tickets that are used for number tracking. Volunteer personal shoppers are on hand to assist the younger children while the parents enjoy coffee, tea, cookies and a visit. When gifts are chosen by the children, they then take them to the wrapper ‘elves’ with their shopping list and tickets. The children are also invited to pick out one item for themselves.
There was just about everything on hand that you could imagine for the children to select from; everything from jewelry, toys, slippers, mittens, work tools, games, table runners, purses, candle holders, Christmas decorations and much, much more.
“There is always stuff left over from the event, and those items will be taken to Treasures (Manitoulin Family Resources),” said Mr. McQuay.
“It is thanks to the generous donations from the community and beyond for making this joyous event happen each year,” continued Ms. Sloss.
“Marion Seabrook had a wonderful idea in spearheading putting on this event every year,” said Mr. McQuay.
