Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
Nipawin Handiworks has decided to keep an annual Christmas tradition alive in the Nipawin area by collecting letters and delivering them to Santa for free.
The local community-based organization supports adults with intellectual disabilities through their retail store and fishhook business, among other things. On Dec. 6, they will become a drop-off point for children who want to mail letters to Santa.
Nipawin Handiworks Community Support Worker Ireland Miner said the goal is to make sure children can still send letters to Santa, since Canadian Post office workers are on strike this December.
“The letters are kind of a traditional thing,” Miner said. “I had said a couple of weeks ago, it’s really sad the strike is on because I would love to send a letter this year, but there’s nowhere to send it. It’s keeping the Christmas spirit alive.”
Normally, the post office runs a Santa Letter Program where kids can write a letter to Santa and the post office will deliver it for free. However, the program is up in the air this year due to the strike. Some postal workers, like those in Windsor, Ont., have agreed to accept Santa letters on the picket line, and will deliver a return letter before Christmas. The Daily Herald reached out to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to see if postal workers in the Nipawin and Prince Albert areas were accepting letters. The union replied to say they were working on a plan for Prince Albert, but weren’t sure about the surrounding areas.
Miner has two children ages four and two, and was looking forward to helping her oldest send a letter to Santa this year. When her boss at Nipawin Handiworks suggested they become a drop-off point for Santa letters, she eagerly agreed to organize it.
Other local groups, like the Carrot River Wapiti Regional Library, have followed in their footsteps by agreeing to collect and return Santa letters too.
Miner said the response has been great.
“We’ve had a lot of people message us. I’ve had a lot of people stop me in the street personally and say, ‘I think it’s so cool what you guys are doing. It’s so awesome.,’” Miner said.
Miner said the bonus is it gives Nipawin Handiworks helpers and staff something to do when the weather turns cold. Normally they create crafts for the retail store, but Miner said they are running out of space.
She said they expect sorting all the Santa letters will keep them busy.
“They’re kind of getting a little bored—a little stir crazy. I think something like this will definitely keep them busy for a couple of weeks, because we’ve already had a lot of online traction. They’re definitely going to be busy,” Miner said.
Children in the Nipawin area can drop their letters off at Nipawin handiworks until Dec. 6. Return letters will be available for pickup on Dec. 20.
Nipawin Handiworks is an organization that supports adults with intellectual disabilities. They operate three group homes, as well as a day program and supported independent living program.
She added that the service is not going to be for Nipawin alone. Kids from the surrounding area can drop their letters at the Nipawin Handiworks retail store on Railway Avenue.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
