Cheer Board reflects on successful 2025

Winnipeg

The 2025 season was an interesting one for the Christmas Cheer Board.

This year, the non-profit, volunteer operated Christmas hamper service — which delivers donated non-perishable food items, as well as toys for kids of varying ages, to families in need — received 19,568 hamper applications. That number signified a drop from 2024, when 20,993 applications were received.

“I can’t answer the question … about where those people have gone,” said Cheer Board executive director Shawna Bell. “It should have been more, and it’s surprising that it wasn’t.”

Hampers were delivered by the non-profit from Dec. 5 to Dec. 22, and the board began to accept applications in mid-November. At that time, the Cheer Board predicted it would need 21,000 hampers — matching what it saw last year.

“One of the big tasks that we’ve gotten behind over the last four years is the accuracy of our measurements and being able to understand exactly what we’re putting out,” Bell said. “So, yeah, I don’t know where that 1,400 went.”

Another change for 2025 was that organization operated from two separate locations — a warehouse at 133 Paramount Rd. and a drop-off centre on Main Street, situated in a vacant Giant Tiger. The latter was prime real estate, as it’s on a major bus route and was accessible for people who don’t own vehicles.

While having two locations caused few problems, that ship has probably sailed, Bell said.

“I think was probably a lot for our small but fairly mighty team to take on,” she said. “And it’s something that I don’t think that I’d repeat again … the strength of the Cheer Board lies in everybody coming together to make this work each and every year, and when we fragment that, it sort of breaks. It doesn’t break the spirit, but it weakens the spirit of the organization.”

In hindsight, Bell said she wouldn’t venture into that scenario again, but “we needed to do what we needed to do.”

Overall, though, she said the season was a successful one.

“I think it was a really good year in terms of getting support out into the community … we had so many donation drives that were organized by individuals and businesses out there in Winnipeg, who just helped us so very, very much with food and toy donations. And if there’s one thing that’s always amazing, it’s just how well this community rallies around and supports us and helps us make our way to the finish line. So that was incredible,” Bell said.

“This community is just remarkable in what it does to help. There’s no way that we could ever have gotten to 106 years in Winnipeg, had it not been for the community that surrounds us.”

She said that the sum total of financial donations was still being calculated press time, but that it looked to be on par with last year, “which is great.”

“And then, of course, there was the big bonus amount ($1 million) that we got from the (provincial) government on Dec. 19. So that certainly is going to help us be in a very, very healthy position going into the new year.”

Bell predicted that next year will bring a new set of challenges, on par with the way things have changed since she assumed her role five years ago — such as the rising cost of groceries, U.S. tariffs, and everything in between.

“We’re going to improve the ways we serve folks to make sure they get what they need to enjoy the holidays and feel a little bit better about their circumstance,” she said.

“We’re going to be very fiscally responsible with this donation, and make sure that it has some legs.”