Christmas stocking project looking for volunteers

LETHBRIDGE — The annual Operation Christmas Stocking project at Chinook Regional Hospital is in need of volunteer crafters.

Through this project, one-of-a-kind handmade stockings are created and stuffed with small gifts to be left at every patient’s bedside for a Christmas morning surprise. The stockings have been providing cheer for more than 30 years since being launched by a group of nurses in the old Municipal Hospital.

Students from local schools and community volunteers help by creating fabric stockings, and writing ‘Letters of Hope’ to patients. Volunteers gather to stuff the stockings, which are delivered to the nursing units by Christmas Eve. Nursing staff who work the night shift on Dec. 24 are asked to act as Santa’s elves and deliver the stockings to each patient’s bedside. The project is co-ordinated by Volunteer Resources.

For a pattern and more information, please phone 403-388-6311 or e-mail volunteer.lethbridge@ahs.ca.

The project is sponsored by Friends of Chinook Regional Hospital, which donates money to buy the stocking stuffers. Friends is a volunteer-led organization that operates the gift shop and the TV/phone program at Chinook Regional Hospital. All proceeds are used to benefit Chinook Regional Hospital in support of patient care and programs.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.