Pass it on Project - Mrs. Claus’ Dinner Out

One day I was scrolling through social media and saw a post about the Christmas Giving. It was a photo of a restaurant in the city where people pre-paid for a complete stranger’s dinner and then the receipt was placed on the window of the business for someone else to take, go in and have a warm meal.

It was heart-warming to see such an overt act of kindness. My friend Margaret Thomas saw the same post and commented on it wishing that we could replicate this in the Pass. 

This got me thinking, why can’t we do this in the Pass? So, I picked up the phone, called Margaret and asked her if she wanted to do something like this. She was all in and we picked up Cathy Painter, Kim Lewis, and Janice Pounder along the way.

We have many avenues for people in need to get the necessities at Christmas. We have the Women’s Resource Centre, the Food Bank, and the Food Hamper through the Municipality. Our community does an amazing job to try to help those the most in need during the Christmas Season.

Our thought is to do something kind for people in need that is more of a treat than a necessity. Families that can’t splurge on an evening out at a restaurant.

So, we’re fundraising within the community, and we hope that you would consider donating to our new fundraiser. It’s the “Pass it on Project” whose goal is to provide restaurant meals for families and singles that usually do not access the food bank or hamper projects. 

The project will provide gift certificates to families or individuals that are identified by local agencies who know who these invisible people are.  

This is a small grassroots project and we hope to reach as many people as possible in December. We have named this campaign “Mrs. Claus’ Dinner Out’. 

We have a number of local restaurants on board. Donation boxes will be set up at Summit Home Centre, the Pass Herald and both town offices. Every dollar donated will be used to buy Gift Certificates at the participating restaurants for a meal.

We have asked Chris’ Restaurant, Country Encounters, Vito’s, Ben Wong’s, and Cherry on Top to participate and they absolutely loved the idea. 

We are hoping that this becomes a community initiative for years to come. You will see Mrs. Claus’ Dinner Out in the paper showing the donations we have received. We have already received $500 in donation for families in our community.

This initiative just fills my soul. My mom didn’t have the luxury of a dinner in a restaurant until she was well into her twenties. This community is amazing when it comes to taking care of the necessities of a family, and I truly feel that we sometimes miss the small moments that give someone a chance to experience a small luxury. A dinner out is a chance to try something new for some families, and a break from the monotony of just trying to survive. 

So please support our program. We are excited to do it, we are looking for people to help us build our program and expand it in the future. 

Christmas is about hope and giving and I know that this community has both in abundance. So, Pass it On and let’s add some joy into someone’s day.