Bow Valley Elves 2020

ROB: I’m speaking with Christine de Soto from the Bow Valley Elves program. What is Bow Valley Elves?

CHRISTINE: Bow Valley Elves is a program that’s been going on since 2012. We provide gifts to seniors and elders in the Bow Valley.

ROB: What’s the method of providing those gifts?

CHRISTINE: We get requests from the lodge, the hospital, Family Community Support Services, the MD of Bighorn, and Morley of what the seniors would like, and we make the tags. This year we have it on SignUpGenius, so you can go to our Facebook page or website and sign up online to get a tag. The requests are also written on tags hanging on a tree at Rusticana. You get a tag, you buy the present, and you return it, and we make sure that all the seniors and elders receive their gifts by Christmas. The deadline this year is December 14^th.

ROB: How many gifts are you hoping to distribute this year?

CHRISTINE: This year we’ve had 412 gift requests. There’s 50 tags still available online or on the tree at Rusticana, and we’ve only had 50 returned. We’re really hoping people will start returning the gifts so we can get a jump on sorting.

ROB: In your eight years of doing this, why do you feel this is an important program to have?

CHRISTINE: This year, more than ever, we feel that the program has really come to life and has found its need. We ran the program in the summer as well to give the seniors a lift in their isolation. It connects them to the community. Normally we’re able to have the high school students connect with the seniors, and show up at Christmas to sing, hang around, and talk. This year, obviously, that cannot happen. They’re working on something to bring some joy to the seniors at Christmas.