The Fort Frances Kiwanis Club is hosting a Small Hands, Big Hearts Kids Market in May to enable kids to “buy” gifts for friends and family, and they’re looking for assistance from the community.
Sandra McNay is taking lead on the event for the Kiwanis Club, she said the idea came up at her church.
“I belong to the Church of the Holy Spirit and one of our members brought this up, that this had been done down east somewhere,” McNay said.
“We were going to try to do it through the church but the church is a small congregation and I know that it’s going to take a lot of hands and help to put this event on.”
The local service club is calling on community members and local businesses to donate new or almost new items that children might want to pick up for their parents or other adults in their lives, as well as siblings or friends, to give as gifts.
“We’re asking people as they’re spring cleaning to kind of go through their things,” McNay said. “You know how you get gifts you never use or sets of things that you never end up using, and consider donating them to us.”
Some examples McNay offered include unused fishing tackle or gardening tools. McNay emphasized that this isn’t a request for castoffs, they want things that are new or close to new.
To that end they’re also accepting monetary donations so if the sale is lacking in any particular area they can go out and buy some items to fill out the stock.
On Saturday, May 10, (the day before Mother’s day) all of the items will be available at the Sunset Country Métis Hall on a first come, first served basis until everything runs out from 1 – 4 p.m.
“Kids will be able to come with their parents and ‘shop’ for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or if they have a sibling who’s having a birthday,” McNay said.
“We’ll have a gift wrapping station and they can go and wrap it and get a card and put it all together.”
They’re also hoping for donations of wrapping supplies like gift bags, wrapping paper or tissue paper, bows and ribbons and things of that nature.
If there are people who feel they want to donate on the day of the event because they don’t want to accept things completely for free, the Kiwanis Club will also be taking donations to give toward other worthy causes that they support.
To donate, you can contact Sandra McNay at 807-276-1293 or contact the “Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances” Facebook page.
