Warm hearts at Sacred Heart make the season bright

12/17/2024 07:03 PM

Jacqueline Hurlbert is a wrap artist.

That was evident when she, alongside several business-office colleagues with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, paid a pre-Christmas visit to Sacred Heart Community School.

"Although we're very busy in the off-season, it's nice to step back, spend time in our neighbourhood, and literally give back," said Hurlbert, the Roughriders' Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement.

"To do this as a staff is very special."

The same description applies to the school's holiday-season initiative, which has been an annual event for more than 20 years.

In early November, Sacred Heart administrators and faculty members took to social media to put out a call for donations.

The response, enthusiastic once again, elicited the accumulation of enough items to allow every student at the elementary school — located in Regina's North Central area — to select gifts for family members.

Once the presents were chosen, they were taken to a wrapping station that was staffed on a rotating basis by volunteers from an assortment of community-based organizations, such as the Roughriders.

While using "Go Riders!" green wrapping paper, Hurlbert applied the finishing touches to a present that had been selected by a young girl named M.J.

"I'm glad none of the kids are judging me on my wrapping skills," commented Hurlbert, greatly under-rating her excellence in that area.

"How do you think I'm doing?"

M.J. nodded and smiled.

After applying tape and a bow to the wrapping paper, Hurlbert displayed supreme penmanship while filling out and affixing a gift tag.

TO:Mom

FROM:M.J.

"Around the holidays, it's always, 'Go, go go,' but it's important to stop and think of others," Hurlbert said. "This is a great opportunity for our staff to do that."

Hurlbert was joined during one wrapping session by Arielle Zerr (the Roughriders' Director, Communications), Jenn Senger (Director, Ticket Operations and Sales), Allyson MacDonald (Manager, Ticket Sales), Nicole Bissonnette (Manager, Premium Services), Eva Fletcher (Event Co-ordinator), Ally Chmielnicki (Business Intelligence Specialist), Morgan Fleury (Digital Media Co-ordinator), Tyler Daku (Lifecycle Marketing Specialist), Julia Vaughan (Graphic Designer) and Sebastian Soltes (Media Relations Co-ordinator).

Earlier in the day, the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation had been represented by Cindy Fuchs (Executive Director), Marnie Forsberg (Project Administration Co-ordinator), Nathaniel Cruz (Marketing Content Creator) and Sandra Berkan (School Presentation Scheduler).

Karina Peterson (Community Operations Co-ordinator) played an integral role in facilitating the Roughriders' involvement with the event.

The team worked closely with school administrators, such as Lindsay Morhart.

"The kids are so excited to be able to give," Sacred Heart's Vice-Principal said. "Everyone thinks kids are all about getting, but our kids are just as happy to give as they are to get, because a lot of them don't often have that chance."

As Morhart spoke, it was the turn of students in Grades 6 and 7 to sift through the gifts in the "Santa Store" and select presents for their loved ones.

"There's enough that we can fill an entire room with amazing donations from people in the community," Morhart marvelled.

"We still have a lot of the donations downstairs, in the back, and under the tables. After these kids are finished shopping, we'll re-stock for the other classes. There will be a lot for everyone."

The items were placed on tables and arranged by category, such as Toys, Jewelry, Puzzles, Books, Household and Toiletries.

"There are a few things my mom, my dad and my family would like here," 10-year-old Ace Saflor, who is in Grade 6, said while in the process of filling a large gift bag.

Included was a toy set for his sister and a craft activity for the entire family.

Surprisingly, some Barbie dolls had yet to be claimed by Saflor or his classmates during the 45 minutes that were allocated for their shopping spree.

"That's because the kids are not shopping for themselves," Morhart noted. "They're looking for things for Mom or Dad.

"A lot of the kids' families don't have the resources to buy all these gifts, so I love looking around and seeing the kids picking out presents for their family and being excited about it.

"This couldn't be run without all the donations from people in the community, so we're very grateful that everyone wanted to give us a hand."