Kids of all ages were in for a treat on Sunday as Santa Claus, The Grinch, and Cindy Lou Who made an appearance at the East End Curling Rink for an afternoon of photo-ops, hot chocolate, and the chance to go home with an ornament made in Santa’s Workshop, all to raise money for the Pediatric Unit at the Victoria Hospital.
This is the second year in a row that the Grinch and Santa got together to bring some Christmas cheer to the Prince Albert community. The man behind the Mr. Grinch fundraising efforts asked to remain anonymous, but said he saw a lot of upside-down smiles during COVID. That convinced him to do something different to raise money for the children spending the holidays in the hospital.
“That was kind of my motivation, to lighten how the world is and make it a more positive and happy place,” he explained.
Cindy Lou Who joined the team this year and after getting some of Santa’s elves on board, decided to host an indoor photo session. According to the Grinch, the event saw close to 600 people and the trio managed to raise $1,600 with more money still coming in.
Those who donated $20 or more were able to choose a wood burned ornament or picture handmade by Santa Claus and the elves; Santa said he worked all year in his workshop to make the gifts specially for the generous supporters.
“It went really well, people seemed quite happy with the idea,” said Mr. Claus, who’s been in the business of spreading Christmas cheer for over 20 years.
“The volun-deers were tremendous, I want to thank them for making everything run smooth,” Claus said. “Every year gets bigger and better.”
