Christmas gift basket auction, a new fundraiser by the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout
Reeti Meenakshi Rohilla - Staff Writer
Starting a month before Christmas, the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout is auctioning gift baskets to raise money to give back to the community this holiday season. “Rotary’s motto is Service Above Self and especially at this time of year, we try to support local folks. We hope to bring some joy to a family who may need just that. In one of our weekly Zoom meetings, we brainstormed ideas to raise money and came up with this basket auction,” shared Sylvie MacDonald, the Exchange Student Counselor for the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout, who is also overseeing the Christmas gift basket auction.
MacDonald mentioned, “We will post our items daily beginning November 25 on the Rotary Facebook page and also, we will post the link on the Sioux Lookout Buy & Sell to reach more people. This money will go to the (First Step) Women’s Shelter to provide a family with gifts for Christmas.” She added, “We think it’s important to give back especially during tough times.” MacDonald shared that she hopes “to include our community in our fundraising and help us give back.”
Transitional Housing Support Worker for the Sioux Lookout First Step Women’s Shelter, Laura Duguay said that the proceeds would be used for the Adopt A Family program. She added, “The Rotary donates every year to the shelter. It’s just a little bit different. The reason they’re doing the auction this year is because of COVID. So, I think everybody is just doing things a little bit differently this year.”
MacDonald shared that the auction of gift baskets is a new event this year. “If I forget to post a daily basket I will do it the next day! I will try to do a daily basket, during weekdays!” She added that the Rotary Club usually does a fundraiser during Christmastime, coming up with a safer way to fundraise this year. “We usually sell peanuts or chocolate covered almonds. But this year, because of COVID, we wanted to reduce the amount of interactions.” Last year the club raised $800 for the women’s shelter.
