The happy sounds of holiday carols and chatting friends filled Lake Cowichan’s Centennial Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 18 as the community gathered to fill hampers for the less fortunate.
This long-running event is well-organized and runs like clockwork, with everyone sorting and checking the non-perishable food first, then placing it at stations around the hall. Once that’s all done, volunteers take shopping carts, pick up boxes and lists and go around the room filling the hampers and checking each item off the list as it’s picked up.
The whole thing operates like a happy merry-go-round, works smoothly and gets the job done very quickly.
Once the hampers are filled and tagged, everyone troops downstairs for a lunch prepared by the Mayor and Council.
All the fresh food and produce is put in the hampers the following day, just before they are picked up.
Donations of cash, food, and toys have been flowing in for weeks for this event, which proves yet again that Cowichan Lakers are always ready to help out.