‘Mitts off’

Dear sir:
“Hats off,” or should I say “Mitts off,” to you, the community, for making our “Helping Hands—Mitts for Kids” campaign another big success.
For the 2002 campaign year, we at In-Focus decided to start our campaign drive early. Thanks to Norma Pattison and her column in the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, phone calls and letters from all over Northwestern Ontario started to come in.
There were many people wanting to donate wool or knit mitts. And there were people who were interested in starting a campaign like ours in their own community.
And, to my surprise, there was a large donation of wool by Dave Krawchuk of Thunder Bay—delivered in the back of a half-ton to my front door by his brothers, Merdo and Morris. Thanks, guys!
I am finding with each year that we do our “Mitts for Kids” campaign, the stories, the experiences, and the challenges are more exciting and rewarding. This year, not only were we able to fulfill the goal of the Salvation Army Christmas hamper drive, we also were able to donate enough mitts to fill the Christmas hampers prepared for the families of Couchiching First Nation.
What a great feeling!
I would like to take this time to thank all the businesses of Rainy River District for their collections of money towards our campaign. A special thanks to store manager Kent Oar and the staff of SAAN store here for their ongoing support and to DanTalocka, merchandise manager of Zellers in Kenora, for his continued contribution of discount prices on mitts.
Once again, our list of Christmas angels has expanded. Many ladies in the area and beyond devoted their time and fantastic talents to create wonderful, warm mitts, hats, scarves, socks, and warmers for the children.
I send a sincere thanks to all of you for your kindness.
To my staff at In-Focus (Kristen, Jody, Melissa, Nicole, and Mindy), your hard work and dedication to the campaign is greatly appreciated—and is a large part of the reason for another successful year.
In closing, I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all the people of Rainy River District for the continued support and donations. Once again, the kindness of all of you who have participated in the “Mitts For Kids” campaign has helped to keep our kids’ hands warm and hearts happy throughout the season.
The heartfelt community spirit is immensely appreciated. God bless you all!
Sincerely,
Jan Hall-Bosma
In-Focus