By Jim Morrison
www.thesuburban.com
Westview Bible Church, Pierrefonds, welcomed dozens of volunteers, Saturday, December 13, in serving the West Island Mission’s (WIM) ninth annual Christmas basket distribution for underprivileged families in the West Island.
Cars lined up in single file, as bins of food, filled with well-balanced fare and gifts, were loaded to be delivered to 300 families that day.
The boxes included cereal, peanut butter, oatmeal, soup, canned tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese, tuna, salmon, juice, rice, crackers and tinned vegetables.
“It’s an amazing experience. I wish we could all pay it forward more than just over the holidays,” said Pointe Claire volunteer Leslie Hattern. “The recipients of these baskets were thrilled to receive such generous gifts from our community.”
“Absolutely love delivering baskets to five families today. WIM is an amazing organization with many inspiring volunteers and am honored in being part”, Tracey Wrench, Pointe Claire resident, told The Suburban.
“The event was a huge success and 293 families ended up receiving Christmas baskets,” said WIM Executive director, Wendy Gariepy. “There were at least 275 volunteers involved in making the event a success and my Christmas committee of nine played a major role in how smoothly it ran. For many of these families, there are no other relatives around, especially some of our seniors, and a chance to spend time with the volunteers is an additional highlight to the Christmas Basket.”
Established in February 2005, WIM provides food assistance and other related aid to the less fortunate living in the West Island of Montreal.
