The generosity of the community will allow hundreds of families to enjoy $100 in free food from Hamel's Meat Market.
The gift cards were provided to families as part of the BCHS Santa's Elves program, along with gifts for 352 children in the Bonnyville region.
“The kids are getting gifts, but the parents don't see a lot,” said Jacey Burkholder, head elf and BCHS vice-principal. “It is just a way to extend gifts out to them. They can get some good meals out of this.”
The BCHS gym was packed on Dec. 19 with tons of students and other community members wrapping the many gifts the program had collected.
This year, 352 children will be getting six to seven gifts a piece, which is an increase from last year's initiative, which saw 315 kids receive presents.
“It is awesome. It is very humbling,” said Burkholder. “We couldn't have done this without the community support.”
The group, a majority of which was made up of BCHS students and staff, spent three hours after school wrapping gifts. Burkholder expected the wrapping to flow over to Friday, as there were piles of presents in the gym.
She also said it was nice to see all of the students come out and volunteer their time.
“You get to see a different side to the kids,” said Burkholder. “It's nice to see that they are all out supporting an awesome cause.”
