More than 200 children had happier holidays as a result of the generosity of University of Ottawa staff and students who prepared Christmas stockings for them.
The annual drive is an initiative of liaison manager, Julie Cafley, who has been coordinating it for the past seven years.
“There’s a lot of heart in this project because it requires more than simply writing a cheque,” she said. Cafley noted that several people coordinated the drive in their own sector. Among them were Sylvie Cyr, Nicole Boisvert, Johanne Benoît and Marie Colombe de Maupeou.
Last December 12, a small group of volunteers from the Liaison Office cheerfully spent an hour loading Christmas stockings. The stocking drive has grown every year to the point were a truck from Transport Services was required this year to deliver the gifts to the Dalhousie Food Action Group. Stockings were distributed to needy families the following week.
“It’s fantastic,” said director of the Dalhousie Food Action Group, Kathy Morrell, who was surrounded by the packages stacked in every nook and cranny of the organization’s cramped quarters. “That means that we are going to get something for every kid on the list,” she noted. There were even a few stockings set aside for people whose names weren’t on the initial distribution list.
The agency also received a $1,000 cheque from the proceeds of the sale of the University’s official Christmas card, which was coordinated by the Marketing and Communications Service.
