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Project Michael Santas Fill their Sleigh in North River
Sometimes, all an idea needs is a little help from the community and suddenly it takes on a life of its own.
On a recent outreach trip to Newfoundland, Director Military Family Services staff members Lieutenant Commander (LCdr) Garth Taylor and Eva Marks MacIsaac came across an initiative which had snowballed into a big, town-wide charitable effort with the help of a warm-hearted community.
It all started with an exercise club from North River called Health in Motion. Every year, the group takes on a charitable project in their community as a way of giving back. This year, like any other, their original plan was simple.
“One of the group members has a son who is deployed in Afghanistan,” explained LCdr Garth Taylor. “And the group thought it would be really nice to put a package together for Michael. ‘Project Michael,’ they called it.”
After gathering together some items, they realized that sending one package didn’t seem like enough. Weren’t there lots of soldiers overseas from Newfoundland? Didn’t they deserve a little treat too?
“Then they came up with the idea to send a bunch of parcels to Michael, and let him play Santa for the Newfoundland soldiers,” LCdr Garth Taylor continued, smiling. “They got a bunch of sponsors and gathered a ton of stuff together.”
Health in Motion connected with the St. John’s Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC), where Michael’s mom attends a support group for parents and loved ones with someone overseas. Danette Chaytor, Family Separation and Reunion Coordinator, and Yolanda Miller, Prevention Support and Intervention Coordinator, stated that Health in Motion’s efforts were a prime example of community development and the grass roots support for our troops in Newfoundland.
LCdr Garth Taylor and Eva Marks MacIsaac arrived in North River just in time to help them celebrate the success of their efforts. The entire community had turned out to toast “Project Michael” and the Santas who’d started it all. Over 200 people packed into a North River school auditorium. The St. John’s MFRC staff also promoted and attended the event, providing support and selling Support Our Troops merchandise.
The community enjoyed a performance by the school choir, ate cake and cookies, drank coffee and chatted. Even the local news was there to record the celebration for their viewers. Michael will also receive a tape of the festivities he inspired.
Though the whole outreach trip demonstrated how well people in Newfoundland’s Canadian Forces communities support one another, Health in Motion and their charitable efforts made a lasting impression on LCdr Garth Taylor.
“It just blew everyone’s mind the way that everybody came together,” he said.
The goods that “Project Michael” collected will soon be on their way to Afghanistan. Before long, one lucky Newfoundland soldier will be spreading gifts and cheers from home, and telling everyone that it’s all just a little something from his mom and her friends in North River.
