Paying it forward - The story behind Adopt-A-Family Community Christmas

The holiday season is often a time of joy and celebration. Yet, for many families, it can also be a period of struggle and hardship. The goal is simple but meaningful: to bring hope, joy and connection to families and individuals in need during the holiday season.

The story behind this initiative is rooted in personal experiences and a deep belief in the power of community.

First Hand Experience

Once upon a time, another lifetime ago, I was enrolled at BCIT as a single mom to a 5 year old special needs child, putting myself through school. 

Things were beyond tight trying to pay for tuition, daycare, rent, bills and food but we managed. There was no extra budget for fun though, and that holiday season it was weighing on me knowing that I was going to have to be very creative to provide my son with a memorable Christmas. 

Well unknownst to me, a couple days before Christmas, there was a Christmas miracle. My fellow students had come together to create a care package from “Santa” and they had gathered gifts and food items for us. 

They somehow knew my son was into dinosaurs and had gotten him some dino books and even a action figure from ‘Santa’, they somehow knew my food budget was so tight that I wasn’t able to afford to do a big fancy Christmas dinner, and the basket had some fancy crackers, a mini turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, and a whole bunch of other treats. 

They had even included a gift or two for me. 

I can not begin to describe the feeling of receiving this gift. I would have never in a million years asked for help, as I already felt so grateful to be given the opportunity to even just attend school. I didn’t classify myself as ‘someone in need’.   

But I was wrong.  

That gift basket really made an impact on me. 

I was under a lot of pressure to do good in school as my future was depending on my success. Small things like self care was at the bottom of my priority list.   

My fellow classmates (who I am sure are the ones who nominated me) saw my struggle, and my depression (even though I thought i did a good job at hiding it). The thought that went into the basket made me feel loved and part of that community.  I am not ashamed to share that I cried like a baby opening all the thoughtful gifts they had provided. 

Time to give back

The past decade of my life has been a whirlwind of nose to the grind, and every holiday has been spent working. 

Until now. The farm has given me a new lease on life and the opportunity to do the things I have always wanted to do, such as pay it forward and give back. 

Well now is that time.   As most of you know (if you are reading this) our farm stand is open to all those in the community who create locally made handcrafted things. From food preserves to soaps, to gifts, we have a lot of talent in this community and I have a ton of resources from those connections. 

Kindred Grove Farms is officially sponsoring a family (or Senior) or two… not only in Eagle Bay, but also our surrounding communities of Blind Bay and Sorrento. 

The idea is to gather nominations from friends and neighbours and even the people in need! There is no shame in asking for help, if you are in need please don’t hesitate to reach out.  All Families and Individuals ‘adopted’ will remain 100% anonymous.

( Nominees can remain anonymous as well, on the form there is an option to get follow up, but it’s completely voluntary) 

The ultimate goal

We want to help those out who are struggling this holiday season. Maybe they are going through financial hard times, maybe there has been a recent death in the family, maybe they are alone. Regardless of the struggle, if there is someone (or someones) that you think could use a little community holiday cheer, please consider nominating.  

Unfortunately we are not in the position to help financially  and our intention is not to encourage monetary donations.  But we have an abundance of creativity, preserves, love and maybe even a loaf or two of fresh sourdough bread.

How you can help?

So if you made it this far in the blog you are probably thinking how do I help or get involved?

#1 - Nominate someone in need 

#2 - Volunteer to help (This is going to take a lot of hands to get this planned, organized and executed and we welcome the help!)  We will need help gathering contributions, wrapping gifts, and even delivering to the families closer to the holidays. 

#3 - Make a gift - If you have any special skills and can create things that might make a fun gift, we would LOVE to include it.  Once we have the list of people we will be posting it on our social media a wish list to our communities

#4 - Write up a Christmas card. Tell a funny story, share a favorite holiday moment, Give someone who may be a stranger 5 minutes of your time and share something with them to lift there spirits. 

#5 - Consider donating books you've enjoyed to uplift someone in the community that would appreciate it as much as you have.

#6 - Save the date for the Naughty & Nice Christmas Market where we will be gathering contributions and donations. 

#7 - Pop by the Farm Stand - We are accepting all donations and contributions as well as suggestions.

#7 - Stay tunned! As more people sign up to help, and we get more nominations we will be requesting assistance and more specific tasks. 

Stay Tuned!

Here is how you can stay informed and updated with our progress:

Check the website for updates: www.kindredgrove.ca

Follow us on Facebook: Kindred_Grove

Follow us on Instagram: Kindred_Grove

In Person - Pop By the Farm Stand - Saturdays 10am - 2pm 4603 Eagle Bay Road, Eagle Bay.

In Person - Naughty & Nice Christmas Markets - Dec 12th 4pm - 9pm and Dec 13th 10am - 3pm

Thank you for your time reading this.

 I want to live in a world where we are kind and we support each other in our communities. Life has given me the opportunity to slow down and start to work on making that desire a reality and it starts now. 

Forever Grateful,

Stefaney Pacey