Mack and I had signed up a little too late for last year’s Wrapping Tweetup, an annual event organized by Brittney to help Santas Anonymous for an evening. We made sure not to make the same mistake this year.
On Friday night, we headed to their warehouse just north of the City Centre Airport, a different location than when we volunteered two years ago. There were over a dozen people already there, busily wrapping gifts.
The warehouse
We were assigned bagging duty – placing gifts for each household securely in a bag, then sorting it by location. Time flew by quickly, as it always seems to, and though the group made a small dent on the number packages bagged, the remaining tags were still too numerous to count, and of course, requests will continue to come in for the next few weeks.
Mack bags a package
The need is mind boggling, and a reminder of how many families are less fortunate in our very community. And though Santas Anonymous has, thankfully, been providing this wonderful service in Edmonton for 55 years now, it is also stunning that they haven’t yet secured a permanent home to conduct their business (the Jerry Forbes Centre for Community Spirit, which will house Santas Anonymous, as well as other non-profit organizations, is not slated to be completed until 2013).
Waiting to be delivered
If you’re looking to help out at the Santas Anonymous warehouse, click here. Or, there’s always the delivery days, December 18-19, 2010 – another very worthwhile experience. Thanks to Brittney for organizing this opportunity!
Only Here for the Food 
Thank you for coming out Sharon! We always appreciate the extra set of hands. Next year, we’ll have to find (and wear) some elf hats during the tweetup. 😉
Brittney – you’re welcome! It was fun. Yes, agreed – elf hats next year would be a good idea :).