It started out as a simple homeschooling art project for one local family. The children would create a piece of Christmas artwork for each resident of the Cut Knife long-term care home. We all know how excited children get at this time of year, and somehow, planning a Secret Santa surprise quickly snowballed into a community-wide effort.
It took less than 2 hours for one post on Facebook, by Mom, to enlist Secret Santa sponsors for each of the 30 long-term care residents. But more people wanted to contribute, so additional donations were put towards topping up the stockings. Then, the community kept on giving, so now each resident will receive an individualized gift, a Christmas stocking, a snowman, AND one of the children’s pictures.
This Christmas will undoubtedly be difficult for all of us in different ways. Covid-19 has disrupted our work, our routines, and our family lives. The Cut Knife care home residents will not be permitted to have family visits over the holidays, just outside-the-window visits, but hopefully they will know how much their Secret Santas are thinking about them. Helping each other has been a bright spot this past year, and there have been many examples of kindness in Cut Knife. The community has set yet another best example with this one.
Town of Cut Knife 