By KEVIN BERGER Local Journalism Initiative
Members of the Warman Bearcats U18 girls’ hockey team took a break from the ice last week to help out the volunteers at the Warman Food Bank as they stocked around 50 to 60 Christmas hampers for local families in need.
On December 12, a group of Bearcats players and team staff visited the Awakening Church where the Warman Food Bank is set up to help fill the Christmas hampers.
The girls split into pairs and followed pre-made lists that corresponded to families of varying sizes in order to fill each hamper with an appropriate amount of food.
Team manager Jana Linton said they have about 13 girls on the team hailing from Warman, Martensville and other nearby communities like Clavet and Radisson.
When asked how this came about, Linton noted her father volunteers at the Warman Food Bank, and he had told her it took an entire day last year to fill the 2023 Christmas hampers.
Looking for an opportunity for the Bearcats to help out the community in some way, Linton came up with the idea of getting the team to fill the Christmas hampers.
Strangely enough, Linton said her father had a dream that the Bearcats helped out at the food bank the night before she texted him with an offer of assistance.
“We wanted to find something for the girls to come help in the community, and this just lined up,” she said.
Dorothy Richard, a volunteer at the food bank, said the hampers are filled with enough food to last each family at least a good portion of the Christmas break.
“It’s a good boost for the holidays,” she said.
The food itself was collected via food drives conducted by a number of local schools and churches, as well as individuals stopping with bags of donations.
As with many similar non-profits, Richard indicated the Warman Food Bank is seeing a higher level of demand as people grapple with the rising cost of living.
“Our pantry has been more active than it ever has been,” Richard said.