Wrapping up cheer
Mike McLellan and Tanya Norman pitch in with wrapping gifts.
The Comox Valley Self-Advocates and their friends spent the month of December at the local mall wrapping presents to raise funds for their group. “That’s a Wrap” is the name of the fun event which takes place at a local mall in Courtenay every year.
“This is our major fundraiser for the year,” says Mike McLellan. “We really work hard and it pays off.”
Local businesses donate all the paper, tape, ribbon and trimmings to the group who spend many hours offering a convenient and highly spirited gift wrapping service to shoppers. Donations are accepted and all the proceeds are used by the group through the year for projects and other expenses.
“Driftwood mall also donates the space to us which is so great,” said Nicole Dowling, a member of the group. “We wrap about a million presents,” she added with a smile.
People drop in to have their gifts wrapped, share a joke or two with everyone or just to hang out and share the Christmas spirit.
“We do our best with the weirdly shaped gifts,” laughed Tanya Norman who came over from Powell River to support her friends. “Sometimes you just put a bow on it and it looks good.”
A new development for the group is the creation of a one-time grant for a self-advocate who might need assistance to buy a piece of medical equipment or something that might make their life easier. They can apply to the group who will use some of the proceeds from “That’s a Wrap”.
“We will award the grant to one person per year,” explained Mike. “It carries on the Christmas spirit. We want to inspire other self-advocate groups to get creative about fundraising and to think of ways to help others.”
