Hamper families benefit from big deals
Volunteers scooped up items with slashed prices to be given out next Christmas to needy kids
Volunteers from the Christmas hamper society did a big shop on Wednesday.
Photograph by: submitted , for Maple Ridge TIMES
The doors were closing at Zellers at Haney Place Mall on Monday, Feb. 11 - but the demise of one institution in Maple Ridge bolstered the fortunes of another.
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Christmas Hamper Society was able to cash in on deals at the store to help low-income families during the Christmas season, and after a massive shop Wednesday, volunteers walked away with about $6,000 in savings.
They were able to buy 30 skateboards and lots of larger items they don't always buy like Connex building sets as well as a lot of educational toys for babies.
"It was a huge, huge savings," said the Christmas hamper society's co-chair Lorraine Bates.
Volunteers with the Christmas hamper society usually start their shopping right after Christmas, looking for deals and liquidation items throughout the year.
"Typically, this is the shopping we do but we don't do it in mass," Bates said, explaining that she had to get special authorization from her financial institution to pay for such a large quantity of items.
At the shopping spree, the volunteers had two skids piled up and shrink-wrapped, and a cage full of items for needy kids.
"There's going to be some pretty happy kids," Bates said.
