Yahoo Finance 'The Gift:' Chatham-Kent keeps on giving with successful donation drive
After a massive food drive in May, residents of Chatham-Kent have once again opened their hearts to those in need.
They were asked to leave a donation of a gift or a food item on their doorsteps Saturday as part of an initiative called The Gift.
And according to one of the organizers, Brent Wilken, they rose to the challenge.
"It can't be put into words. It was special," he said of the community's response.
Wilken told Windsor Morning host Tony Doucette Monday that organizers were "up to (their) eyeballs" in goods, though at this stage he couldn't say exactly how much stuff was collected by volunteers.
"There's toys and food and all kinds of different, wonderful things just stocked everywhere," said Wilken, who was also one of the organizers behind the May 16 "Miracle" event that collected hundreds of thousands of kilograms of food.
On Saturday, one young man in particular drove to a donation depot with a vehicle "packed to the rafters," Wilken said.
Ahead of the event, more than 3,000 people were registered to collect donations throughout the municipality.
The event comes as charitable groups grapple with fundraising and how to hold their annual holiday drives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Wilken, the next task is distributing the goods to groups in the community, and ultimately, those who are in need ahead of the holidays.
"Everything that we raised belongs to all of us, and it's up to all us to find everybody," he said.
