Hub Staff

Families picked up food and toys from the Salvation Army Food Bank this week in preparation for a very merry Christmas.

The Iota Phi Toy Drive ran from November 28 to December 12 with drop boxes located at various locations throughout Saugeen Shores. Toys were then collected, sorted and packaged up this past weekend ready for delivery to the food bank.

Angela Hupalo from Iota Phi said they had been given requests for toys for 61 families and 111 children in the area from the Salvation Army, although they only receive basic information. “We get these cards and they only have numbers on them. They'll say 01 and it's a boy, they're aged 5 and what they like.”

From that information Iota Phi then creates a main package for that child and add extras to it such as crafts, colouring books and even summer toys. “There's a really great system and a really nice flow,” said Hupalo.

“Each child, I'm really happy to say, has what is on their Christmas wish.” She continued, “Our community is very generous. It's wonderful.”

Once all the toys were packaged up they were then passed over to the Salvation Army Food Bank in Port Elgin for distribution. Hupalo said that all the leftover toys were also packaged up so that they could be given to those families who may show up at the food bank without having specifically applied for a package.

“Iota Phi are angels,” said Ed Giles of the Port Elgin Salvation Army Food Bank. “They take a lot of pressure off of this office. They do all the collection and the preparation and everything. We give them a paper that had the ages of the children by number and that's all they get...they seem to find the stuff every year.”

He said that this year was the first year they used a remote location for storing and sorting of the toys. “Usually we've had a place in the building here but the room got rented out,” Giles said, adding that Jeff Carver of the Wismer House came up with a building to use for storage of the toys. “We're grateful to him to step forward and give us a place.”

Giles said that the Food Drive in Saugeen Shores had done very well and said there was an increase in applications this year from 110 to 120. He said that Saugeen Shores' 'Stuff a Crusier' held at Rowland's Independent in Port Elgin on Saturday brought in 1,618 pounds of food and $3,047 in cash and gift cards.

“This year is up all over the place,” said Giles. “I'm very happy with it.”