Almonte staff has 12 months of Christmas cheer
Wednesday December 19, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Ask Rick Gourlie which event stands out most for him over the past year at Almonte Country Haven and his answer is straightforward.

“The thing I’m most proud of is the way my staff got together and took the whole year to support their Christmas dinner and party,” says the Ottawa-area long-term care home’s administrator. “They lived Christmas every month, all year.”

The home’s staff members pulled together after it came to light that some of their colleagues were unable to afford tickets to last year’s Christmas dinner.

Not wanting to see anyone left out of the 2007 dinner, 11 staff members got together and organized a staff Christmas committee in January.

Immediately, the Christmas committee got to work by bringing in donations to make theme baskets to be auctioned off each month. The 12 baskets auctioned throughout the year often had a theme pertaining to the month. For instance, February had a Valentine’s Day theme, March had a St. Patrick’s Day motif and baskets sold in July and August were filled with summertime items.

Once the donated items were compiled, the baskets were put together by the mother of one of the staff members.

“It was a complete family process; a complete staff-to-staff support, so when we had the Christmas party, nobody had to pay,” says Gourlie, adding that staff members who had to work during this year’s dinner were each brought a plate of turkey and dressing.

All told, the baskets fetched about $1,500 in support of the Christmas dinner, which was recently held. After everyone’s meal was paid for, there was enough cash left over to buy gifts for a prize draw held at the party.

Darlene Thibault, the home’s life enrichment co-ordinator, was one of the committee’s organizers.

Thibault says the year-round fundraiser went so well the committee plans to continue its work throughout 2008. The formation of the Christmas committee, she notes, says a lot about the staff members at Almonte Country Haven.

“It says they do very well with teamwork,” she says.