The holidays can be the busiest time of the year for some residents. Although, "busiest time" is an understatement for the volunteers for the Christmas Hampers project.

The cut-off date for public donations such as non-perishable food and winter clothing was yesterday. The next step is for volunteers to gather items and organize them into the appropriate hampers for applicants.

Monetary donations continue to be accepted by the Christmas Hampers until the 21st. "We will never turn down monetary donations," said Pam Welter, director of the Canadian Mental Health Association and coordinator for the project. "If it specifies for the Christmas Hampers, then that's what it will go to."

She added how those money donations will go towards food purchases which contribute to collection items with low stock and applicants who have special dietary needs.

Today will be a busy day for the volunteers as they will be taking inventory, starting their shopping for the items, and begin packing hampers through to Tuesday. Applicants will begin picking up their hampers on Wednesday.

The need for hampers is high once again this year, and donations are lower compared to previous campaigns. But, more hamper items are expected to arrive in the coming days. Schools and church groups have been collecting during the month and their accumulation of donations will be added to the hampers as well.

Toys are in demand once again this year with the large amount of applications received from families. The West Central Crisis Centre (WCCC) is in charge of acquiring toys for the hampers, and the centre is preparing for their biggest event to wrap up the collection. The Kindersley Klippers home game on Saturday, December 17th will feature the Toy Drop in which residents can bring an unwrapped toy to the game and donate it towards the hampers. A station for the Crisis Centre will be set up at the West Central Events Centre.