NewmarketToday continues its annual tradition of marking the giving season by celebrating Newmarket's Community Angels — the people whose kindness, compassion and community spirit help make our town one of the best to live in the country.
Sandy O'Neill, Lynn Muir and Penny Rawlinson have been helping out those in need as a trio of friends for more than 10 years.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the three retirees carried out one of their most successful holiday drives Dec. 16, providing hampers filled with goodies and necessities to 110 families in need.
Their annual holiday drive, currently run out of the Newmarket Church of Christ, is no questions asked. Anyone can get a hamper if they feel they are in need, with families found through several schools in the area.
“It’s very, very satisfying to make a difference in someone’s life during a difficult time,” O'Neill said. “We all believe that any of us are only one job, one divorce, or one illness away. It could happen to anybody.”
The trio began the initiative at Maple Leaf Public School, with O'Neill previously working at the York Region District School Board. The holiday drive began to help families in need there but expanded to draw from multiple schools in the area, including Prince Charles Public School, Glen Cedar Public School, Meadowbrook Public School, JLR Bell Public School and more.
The three have organized the drive independently but receive donations through many partnerships, including the schools. They have got help from the Newmarket Lions Club, the Newmarket Swans Club, and a network of other volunteers. They pull donations in to add to the hampers, including gift cards, socks and pyjamas.
“The community is not working in silos anymore,” O'Neil said. “As people get to know us, I think it’s going to get better.”
The pandemic curtailed the group’s school-based setup. But the Church of Christ stepped up to facilitate the project for the past two years. The organizers plan to continue doing it there in the future.
Pastor Nathan Pickard said they wanted to help the neighborhood and started getting involved with the initiative several years ago.
“We are very good friends with the neighbourhoods,” Pickard said. “I don’t think this will end because high rents, the cost of living, really hinders families. Economically, socially, educationally, and we need to work together to support each other.”
The trio said they have been friends for more than 45 years, always doing things together, and they carried that on with this charitable initiative. But it has remained something they enjoy doing.
“It’s our way of giving back to the community,” Muir said. “We were retired, so it’s something we wanted to do.”
‘O'Neil said every family deserves a Christmas, and this is a non-judgmental way to help provide that for them.
“We’ve created some knowledge and awareness about what poverty is like in the community for a lot of people,” she said. “We try to educate and create empathy.”
