Almost five decades ago, a little girl was old enough to realize her Christmas was going to be bleak.
She knew she was not going to be receiving a present that year. There was no food in the cupboards.
Her mother was sleeping when someone knocked on the door, so the child answered.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Premier Wab Kinew (left), families minister Nahanni Fontaine, and Christmas Cheer Board executive director Shawna Bell tour the organization after the government of Manitoba gave a cheque for one hundred thousand dollars to the cheer board on Friday.
She couldn’t believe what she saw then, and Nahanni Fontaine tears up now when she recalls that moment.
Manitoba’s future families minister was greeted at the door by volunteers from the Christmas Cheer Board who were carrying a much-needed hamper filled with food. And, to the little girl’s astonishment, two gifts.
“I do remember,” the now-53-year-old Fontaine said Friday, joining Premier Wab Kinew at the cheer board’s Century Street warehouse to deliver a $100,000 cheque to this year’s campaign.
Kinew added the province is also donating $25,000 to the Brandon and Westman Cheer Board and has set up 24 mail drop-off locations for charitable donations while the national Canada Post strike continues.
“Honestly, it’s so emotional because I literally was so sad,” Fontaine said. “I was so sad that I didn’t have anything. I even remember the wrapping paper, if you can believe it. Green, with little poinsettias.
“The hamper wasn’t closed, so the first thing I saw were these two gifts. One was a bag of mints — like green peppermints — (and) one was a toy; it was a little doll that I honestly kept for years.”
Fontaine said it’s why she can empathize so closely with the individuals and families she and her staff work with, and who the cheer board helps at this time of year.
“I still remember how I felt,” she said. “It’s like a sense of hopelessness. In the midst of Christmas, which is about family and joy and getting gifts — especially as a kid — I remember just sitting there with such a sense of sadness and hopelessness. It was a feeling that I wasn’t even good enough for a present, like you didn’t even exist.
“The hamper immediately made me feel better. And, even though it was a bag of mints and a little doll, I still remember immediately feeling better.”
It’s a feeling the cheer board, with the help of the annual Free Press Miracle on Mountain fundraising campaign, is hoping to pass on to thousands of others during this Christmas season.
Cheer Board executive director Shawna Bell said although Christmas is still more than two weeks away, 17,000 people have applied to get a hamper, and the phone continues to ring.
Bell has estimated the charity could fill 21,000 hamper orders this year, most in the 105-year-old organization’s history.
She said the hampers are now being delivered by volunteers, and more drivers are required.
The province’s donation is greatly appreciated, she said.
“It will go a long way to helping us get hampers into the hands of individuals and families in need this season, and next,” she said, adding she appreciated hearing about Fontaine’s experience so long ago.
“When people tell us that they received a hamper with their family in the past, it’s always so great to hear their stories. When kids grow up without a lot, they remember when people are kind.
“It’s a reminder that kindness always matters.”
You, too, can help bring a Christmas miracle to the families and individuals who need one. These are tough times for a lot of people, yet many of us have the ability to help them.
There’s a child out there whose life could be changed by a knock at the door.
How to help
You can donate to the Miracle on Mountain fund online through CanadaHelps.org — visit wfp.to/miracle.
You can also send a donation directly by e-transfer to donations@christmascheerboard.ca.
When the current Canada Post strike is over, we will provide an address to send cheques by mail.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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