Helping out during the holidays

By Mo Cranker on December 16, 2017.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

A local ringette team is trying to do its part to spread some holiday cheer this Christmas season.

The girls of the U14A Tropics have decided to help out the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society’s Adopt a Family program to help get three single-parent families gifts for the holiday year. On top of that, the team will be helping another ringette family have a good holiday year.

“Our team is doing a service project for the local women’s shelter with their Adopt a Family Program, and is helping a local ringette family that is a little too proud to ask for help during the holiday season,” said Dea Suhai, who helped organize the project. “These girls know that they have a certain amount of privilege. Whether it’s food, clothes, water, travel — they don’t have to worry about where these things come from and they want to give back a bit.”

Over the past month, 14 members of the team have been working to raise money to buy things for each of the four families based on things they want and need.

Through efforts like collecting cans and getting donations from friends and family, the team raised more than $1,200 to purchase goods for the four families.

“It’s very humbling to see these lists,” said Suhai. “Their needs are socks and bedding and clothing. These are families that are starting over with nothing. It’s not frivolous asking at all that we’re seeing. Some families just want some money to make a holiday meal. The wants are things like books or movie passes, it’s really not asking for much.”

Suhai says it’s great for the parents of the team to watch the girls come together at this young of an age to do something good for other people.

“When you watch these girls come together and give the gift of time, it’s incredible,” said Suhai. “There’s so much team bonding that goes on and they really do key in that this purpose is greater than them. and they really do it with enthusiasm and joy. They do this first to help out a few people in the community, and it brings the team together and is so big for their personal growth.”

It’s the second straight year for a lot of the girls to do fundraising for a project like this, and Suhai says helping out a family most of the girls know is that much more special.

“The mom of the ringette family works two jobs, is a single mom and has three kids who are all active in competitive sports,” she said. “Because she has a job, she doesn’t qualify for any programs that are available to residents in Medicine Hat. This mom caught Pneumonia and missed a week, and that was detrimental to the family. We just want to assist a family within the sporting community.”

The girls went out Friday with the familys’ lists and purchased as many items as they could with the money they raised.

Suhai says she is hoping more teams start to take on projects like this during the holiday season.