ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

Ten-month-old Amber Wainer looks up at Santa Claus during the inaugural Winter Wonderland event this weekend at Festival Square. The event gave visitors the chance to get into the holiday spirit, while supporting the Lethbridge Food Bank.

The Sock It to ‘Em campaign has reached its half way mark and with it the second push for donations. Both local school divisions and Nord-Bridge Senior Centre are hoping to receive more socks prior to the last day of the campaign on Dec. 15 to help those in need.

Sock It To ‘Em is a campaign sponsored by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 290 that collects new socks of all sizes and styles, and monetary donations to purchase new socks. This year they are celebrating their 22nd year of helping those in need keep their feet warm through the winter.

CUPE 290 president and head caretaker at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, Eugene Degrechie, said there is usually a different organization every year that gets involved with the campaign and this year the partnership with NordBridge Senior Centre is going very well.

He said at the half way mark the Lethbridge School Division has already collected hundreds of socks.

“There’s 212 pairs collected at Westminster school so far, but all the schools combined I’m going to give just a rough estimate of probably about 500 to 600 pairs so far,” said Degrechie.

He said so far through the 22 years, the school division record is 1180 pairs of socks in one campaign and he is hoping to break that record this year.

“It would be really nice if we can get up to about 1300 or 1400 pairs,” said Degrechie.

Westminster Elementary School head caretaker, Mary-Ann Potts, said it is nice to see the school children get involved with the campaign.

“I just think this is a great thing to do, because as you are aware most times we’re only wearing socks three months out of the year and that’s the last thing most people think about until you see the little kids coming to school with no socks,” said Potts.

Children of St. Martha School administrative support, Theresa Schmold, said on the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division side things are going very well.

“It’s going quite well this year, come Wednesday we should have buckets full because we’re having our CUPE 1825

Christmas meeting and that’s where all of our staff that come to the meeting bring their socks from the different schools that they have collected,” said Schmold.

She said after that, they will keep all the socks at the school and she will be bringing them to Nord-Bridge on Dec. 15 to add them to the Sock Mountain.

Schmold said the school has taken part in the campaign for many years, as it is very important to help those in need especially through the winter months.

“I have been here for over 20 years and as long as I’ve been with CUPE 1825 I can always remember us doing the sock drive at Christmas time with CUPE 290,” said Schmold.

Cash donations are being accepted until Dec. 9, to give them enough time to make the purchases.

Donations can be dropped off at any school within the Lethbridge School Division, the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division, Palliser Regional School Division and Nord-Bridge Senior Centre.

The socks will be distributed among the YWCA Harbor House, Streets Alive, Woods Homes, Lethbridge Homeless Shelter and Nord-Bridge Senior Centre.