Santa and his helpers greeting children in cars for the December to Remember drive-thru event hosted by KidsAbility on Dec.3.
Santa greeted children and their families Saturday for the 15th annual December to Remember event hosted by KidsAbility in Waterloo.
Seventy-five families were invited to drive up to the centre and receive not only a bag of toys for the young ones, but also a package for the parents.
Members from the Waterloo Regional Police Service and the Waterloo Fire Department were also present to welcome the cars.
All gifts given to the families were donated by members of the community.
“For some children, it’s their only opportunity to have a visit with Santa and for some children, it’s a bit scary to meet him for the first time so it’s a bit of a safer way to do it,” said Linda Kenny, CEO of KidsAbility.
Families were also given a gift card to visit the Gift of Lights display at Bingemans.
This was the third consecutive year that the event was done in a drive-thru format due to COVID-19.
“When we started planning it in the late summer, we still weren’t really sure what the status was going to be,” said Kenny. “We decided that we were going to do one more year of the drive-by, but hopefully next year we can invite families back into our centre.“
With many families feeling the financial pinch over the holidays, this was an opportunity for children to receive a special toy from Saint Nick.
“For some families that we identified as really struggling, we also have been able to put some grocery gift cards into their bag as well. It has been a very difficult year for many families, so our social work team is really great at being able to identify some of those families who may just need a little extra help,” Kenny said.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
A six-year-old girl died in hospital Sunday night after being involved in an incident at the Val-Saint-Côme ski resort in Lanaudiere. Quebec police are investigating, though details into the event are not yet known. Officers indicated that it involved a T-bar lift, but they were not able to say more.
Advocates and business owners in the beverage industry say new guidance for drinking alcohol could speed up changing consumer drinking habits as younger generations drink less and non-alcoholic beverages become more popular.
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an 'inflection point' where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths.
The world is 'dangerously unprepared' for future pandemics, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) say in a report published on Monday, calling on countries to update their preparedness plans by year-end.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine displacing millions of people, many refugees have begun to lay their roots in Canada. If you or someone you know has fled the war-torn country and settled in Canada, we want to hear from you.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
It could be a watershed moment for homeless policies in Ontario. A judge denied a Region of Waterloo court bid for an injunction to have homeless encampments removed from land at Victoria Street North and Weber Street West in Kitchener due to too few shelter spaces, and the decision is already on the radar of city officials and homeless advocates in London.
A Chatham man has been arrested in relation to a robbery that took place in October. According to police, officers first responded to a business on King Street West for a robbery investigation.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series '24' and providing the voice for Tess in the video game 'The Last of Us' has died. She was 45.
OPS and Ottawa Bylaw officers issued 192 parking tickets and 67 Provincial Offences Notices in downtown Ottawa this weekend, as people gathered marked the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy'.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an 'inflection point' where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths.
A six-year-old girl died in hospital Sunday night after being involved in an incident at the Val-Saint-Côme ski resort in Lanaudiere. Quebec police are investigating, though details into the event are not yet known. Officers indicated that it involved a T-bar lift, but they were not able to say more.
Quebec's minister responsible for secularism, Jean-Francois Roberge, has called on Canada’s new special anti-Islamophobia advisor Amira Alghawaby to apologize and step down.
Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella is among several Canadian police chiefs to speak out against the beating death of a Black man by several police officers in Memphis, Tenn., earlier this month.
Horror, outrage, and pain are just a few words Robert Wright uses to describe his feelings after watching Tyre Nichols pinned and assaulted by officers in Memphis.
The president-elect of the faculty union at Memorial University of Newfoundland says his colleagues are energized and united on their first day on the picket line.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
Advocates and business owners in the beverage industry say new guidance for drinking alcohol could speed up changing consumer drinking habits as younger generations drink less and non-alcoholic beverages become more popular.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an 'inflection point' where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths.
Santa and his helpers greeting children in cars for the December to Remember drive-thru event hosted by KidsAbility on Dec.3.
