STONEY NAKODA – All the Eagle's Nest Stoney Family Shelter wants for Christmas is 300 unwrapped toys, gift cards, pyjamas, underwear, blankets and socks.
Launching the annual Christmas Gift Giving Campaign earlier this month, organizers are accepting donations of unwrapped toys for children ages newborn to 10 years old, as well as for those aged 10 to 16 years old, along with items for women’s gift bags.
Eagle's Nest Stoney Family Shelter Community Prevention Worker Shaunna Pierro-Hunter said so far they have already received a lot of unwrapped toys for the campaign and are focusing on collecting items for women's gift bags.
"We are in partnership with the Iyahrhe Nakoda Food Bank in Morley," Pierro-Hunter said. "They had an overload of toys so we said we would partner to help them out – now we are looking for gifts for the mothers and grandmothers to take care of them who are taking care of their families."
Asking for toiletries, makeup, gift cards, new clothing items, pyjamas, underwear, socks and blankets, she noted there are eight drop-off points across the Bow Valley and Cochrane, including two in Banff and three in Canmore.
Initiated in the early 1990s, the Eagle's Nest Stoney Family Shelter opened its doors in 1992 after a community study revealed the magnitude of family violence within the First Nation.
Closed for two years for renovations and reopened in 2017, the shelter has been serving nation members and surrounding area residents for almost three decades, as the building has several rooms and beds that can host up to five or four families including a room for singles with three to four beds in each room, compared to neighbouring communities such as Banff which has two units to accommodate women and families in crisis, and no existing emergency shelters in Canmore or Cochrane (although the Big Hill Haven is currently under planning and development in Cochrane).
"It’s a matter of giving back to the community especially for families that need it the most for such an important time of the year," Pierro-Hunter said.
Drop off locations include:
Morley:
The Eagles Nest Stoney Family Shelter
Canmore:
Banff:
The Banff Centre, the Sally Borden Building
Cochrane:
Cochrane IDA Pharmacy
Cochrane Seniors Condos
The Christmas Gift Giving Campaign wraps up with organizers collecting donations on Dec. 17 and distributing gifts to families on Dec. 20.
For more information on how to give back, contact organizers at 403-881-2025.
To access the 24-hour crisis line, call 403-881-2000.
