A new program to bring kindness to St. Albertans at Christmas debuts this week – and you can watch the magic happen on your screen.
The St. Albert Gazette's 12 Days of Christmas Kindness program has identified 12 local individuals who were surprised with special gifts from family and friends,, all provided by generous St. Albert businesses, one each day in the 12 days leading up to Christmas.
Last month, the Gazette put out the call for readers to nominate people that do wonderful things in our community for their families, for their neighbours and for local groups.
"We got some amazing nominations – it was really hard to get them down to 12!" said publisher Tim Shoults.
The Gazette then reached out to our local businesses to find the perfect gift for our recipients.
"Our local business community was incredibly generous, giving us more than $5,000 worth of gifts to give to our nominees," said Shoults.
"Then came the fun part – knocking on people’s doors to surprise them with their gifts."
The videos, which were shot in the first two weeks of December, resulted in many memorable moments.
"It went even better than we had hoped," said Shoults. "Our nominators really came up with some deserving people, and our recipients were really surprised to be recognized.
"There were lots of hugs, a few tears, and one very large, very excited dog."
The program is inspired by Soo Today, a community media company in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, who has been giving away Christmas gifts to deserving individuals, couples and families for more than 12 years.
"It's an incredible program, and we're thrilled to be bringing it to St. Albert," said Shoults.
The videos are available at the St. Albert Gazette website at www.stalbertgazette.com by clicking on the "Features" menu and selecting "12 Days of Christmas Kindness". There will be one video posted each day starting Friday (Dec. 13) through Christmas Eve, with the videos airing again on repeat starting on Christmas Day.
Local advertisers who provided gifts to recipients included: Riverside Co-op, Costco St. Albert, Divine & Free, Clearwater Car Wash, Sorrentinos, Argos, Buco, IdeaLabs, Swiss Chalet, Rose & Onyx, Cloud Nine, Seasons Gift Shop, St. Albert Centre, Phoenix TaekonDo, KDM Property Management, Allan Welsh & Company, Cattail Crossing and Studio 107 Hair Salon.
