Twelve volunteer teams helped the Morden Christmas Cheerboard deliver 275 hampers on Wednesday.
Outgoing Board Chair, Lesley Andrew said the hampers contained gift cards to purchase groceries, toiletries, and school supplies. Andrew noted every gift card, for each basket was purchased at a store in Morden.
"So when we talk about staying local, shopping local, supporting local, that's exactly what we did," said Andrew. "They stepped up to the plate, they did everything so that we could present these hampers, or envelopes full of gift cards with a letter from each of the businesses explaining what the money was for." 
Andrew said the number of hampers distributed for this year went down, noting last year they topped the 300 mark. She believes the spike they experienced in 2020 was mostly due to COVID related job losses and layoffs. "I think the economy has picked up a bit, people are back at work...last year was definitely different, for our first COVID year. The year before that was 265."
Typically, in the years preceding the pandemic, Andrew said the Morden Christmas Cheerboard would experience an increase of ten to twenty hampers a year. She adds with the increase in the city's population, the need continues to rise.
Meanwhile, the Morden Christmas Cheerboard is looking for people interested in joining its board. "We've had a number of people wanting to step down this year. A couple of people have been on there (the board) for a long time...close to twenty years. We're just looking for some new blood, and anyone that's interested in participating, it's a worthy cause. It's been very rewarding for me."
The Morden Chirstmas Cheerboard usually gets started for the season in September and winds down in January with a final meeting.
Andrew herself plans to step down from the board once this year's operations wrap up. Including her position, she notes they will have up to four spots to fill.
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