The 2021 CHRISTMAS Baskets campaign

Last year, in 2020, close to 950 Christmas baskets were prepared and distributed in the Memphremagog MRC, including more than 700 to Magog residents. For the 2021 holiday season, we will most certainly distribute over 1000 baskets, and all the organizations in the region are ready! Once again this year, we will proceed by telephone to register for the Christmas baskets. Those interested in receiving a basket are invited to call us now at (819) 868-4438, extension 1. People can also make a request by email at : bamint@cgocable.ca For students of the Centre d'éducation aux Adultes des Sommets and the Centre intégré en formation industrielle (CIFI), it is possible to register directly at the school.

Between now and December 9, people who are eligible to receive a basket will be contacted to confirm the date of delivery. We remind you that it is important, in order to facilitate the work of the volunteers, to be present during the period identified to receive your basket.

As in the past, we are in close communication with our partners who allow us to pursue this beautiful solidarity in our community. They are: the organization of the Sharing Supper, presented by Provigo le Marché, the Missisquoi North CAB, the R.H. Rediker CAB, the Knights of Columbus of Magog and Omerville, the St-Paul's United Church, the Beulah United Church, the Partage Ste-Catherine, the Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel parish, the Ste-Elizabeth parish of North Hartley as well as the students of La Ruche secondary school.

We will soon begin inviting merchants in the MRC to collect non-perishable foodstuffs in the coming weeks. The places that agree to do so will then have bins identified for this purpose. This year, we are also inviting businesses in the region to receive bins in their organization to collect donations from their employees for the Memphremagog Food Bank. We offer a free pick-up service. Companies interested in participating can contact us at (819) 868-4438, extension 2. In 2020, we collected over 8100 kg of food! After a year and a half of pandemic, the BAM and its partner organizations are counting on the generosity of the population to ensure the success of the various collections. The number of people who have difficulty buying groceries has increased in recent months. As we know, prices have increased significantly for food, housing and gasoline, hygiene and household products, etc. In the past week, since the end of federal government benefits, we have already seen an increase in requests for food aid of 20-25%. Unfortunately, old age and income security benefits remain at the same level.

At the Memphremagog Food Bank, we have nearly 40 piggy banks in circulation in various businesses that have been generous enough to let us drop off these little boxes that can collect monetary donations. We would like to thank the businesses that allow us to leave our piggy banks and the people who insert monetary donations.

Given the context of the pandemic, access to our premises is restricted. It is still not possible to visit our facilities. However, it is possible to drop off goods at the warehouse, at the door on the side of the building, accessible from the parking lot.

Finally, this year we plan to set up gift-wrapping booths for those who wish to do so, at Le Tigre Géant on December 9-10-11-12-16 and at Walmart Magog on December 17-18-19-20-21 and 22, 2021, during business hours, in collaboration with the volunteer members of the Association des retraité(e)s de l'enseignement du Québec (AREQ), Magog sector. A voluntary donation will then be suggested. We will follow the evolution of the sanitary situation and the instructions of public health in order to determine if we can hold the activity as we wish.

La ruche Secondary School

Raffle tickets will be on sale as of November 22, at a cost of $2 for a chance to win one of three $300 gift certificates at Métro Plus Plouffe, Provigo or IGA. The draw will take place on December 17. Students will go door to door to sell tickets or collect dry goods for their canneton from December 6 to 17. For more information, call 819 843-1343, ext. 0.

Sharing Dinner presented by Provigo

To finance their Christmas basket distribution, boxed lunches are available for $25 to $75. They must be ordered by November 7 on their website at www.souperdupartage.com. They will be distributed on November 13 in the parking lot of La Ruche High School.

In closing, we would like to thank all the volunteers involved in these activities, as well as all the donors who together contribute to the well-being of the citizens of the Memphremagog RCM.

Source: Andrée Gagnon, Executive Director

819-868-4438, ext. 4