ESTEVAN — It looked like Canadian Tire in Estevan was a crime scene on Saturday afternoon, with many emergency services’ lights on and the high presence of first responders.
Fortunately, the scene was filled with kindness, generosity and the Christmas spirit as the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, Estevan Police Service and Estevan RCMP were collecting donations for the Angel Tree program as part of the annual Stuff the Trucks campaign.
The initiative, spearheaded by the EFRS, attracted many donations. People were coming out of the store with toys and other gifts for kids in their hands. Others brought shopping carts filled to help those who can't buy presents this year.
"Everything went pretty well. The crew was on scene from 1-5 p.m., and they were able to get a fair number of gifts and play," said Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies, adding that they also forward any monetary donations they received from the public to the Community Hamper Association, so they could purchase more gifts for the Angel Tree.
The community's generosity helped firefighters to fill their trucks as well as the law enforcement's vehicle with Christmas gifts for local kids. First responders delivered a pile of donations they collected to the Angel Tree on Sunday.
Davies noted that the annual Christmas toy drive is an important initiative for the fire department.
"We feel that it's something important that needs to happen for the city and the surrounding area. It's fun and easy for us to support that," Davies said.
He recalled that some time ago they used to host the toy drive campaign in front of the fire hall, and they became heavily involved with it. And ever since its inception, the initiative was greatly supported by the members and the department. For the firefighters, it goes beyond the one-day toy drive.
"The department members do our best to support that," Davies said. "We'll do our Stuff the Trucks every year,” said Davies. “And then in conjunction with that, we also always wait till the end, and prior to [the Angel Tree Toy Store] opening, we see if there are any shortfalls for things they may need or different ages for presents that might be lacking.
“And then the Estevan Firefighters Association goes out, and we'll spend a significant amount of money trying to top that up, we go on a shopping spree around the city. It's something our group got involved in, and that's just one of those things that we take ownership of and try to help as best as we can."
All donations will be displayed at the Angel Tree's Toy Store, where families that applied for or were referred to the program will be able to pick a gift for their kids at no charge.
