East Elgin shows Christmas caring

A team of about 40 volunteers worked either side of an assembly line during packing day of the annual East Elgin Christmas Care food hamper program in Aylmer Immanuel Christian School’s gymnasium on Saturday morning, Dec. 23. The hampers would then be delivered to needy families throughout Aylmer and East Elgin which includes all of Malahide and Bayham. The hampers had enough items to prepare a full holiday dinner with all the fixings, as well as much food to last until the New Year. Coordinator Caroline Buis said 206 families, representing 735 individuals, had registered for the program this year, down from the 225 from last year. She said there has been a continuing downtrend in those numbers since the all-time high of 336 families in 2013. (AE/Craig Bradford)