Calgary, AB – Through the Magic of Christmas, 20 Calgary transit buses transformed into reindeer sleighs each carrying Santa Claus and his elves, who sang Christmas carols and delivered food and gifts to more than 650 families in need and 4,500 patients at local hospitals and care facilities. For the past several years, REALTORS®, staff and clients of Sutton Group - Canwest have donated food and gifts to multiple charities.
“For many years, each of our offices adopted a family for Christmas, but we collected so much that we needed to store the excess under the reception desk,” says Office Administrator Gail Peris. The team decided that in addition to donating to the Calgary Food Bank, they would set up a collection box for the Magic of Christmas.
In December, the collection boxes at the Sutton Group - Canwest offices began to overflow with toys, books, clothing and more. These items were delivered to eager children on Christmas Eve.
“While many of us shop and donate to the Magic of Christmas, Karen Gonzales really gets into the spirit by volunteering as an elf,” says Gail. “After her elf costume fitting, she rode the sleigh and spent Christmas Eve spreading cheer to those in need of it the most.” (Karen pictured left in Santa hat)
Karen is one of hundreds of volunteers who work shifts of 6.5 hours to deliver all the gifts from ‘Santa’s workshop’ (the charity’s storage warehouse) to numerous homes.
This unique holiday tradition began more than 30 years ago when Calgarian Bob Johnson decided to show his daughters the true meaning of Christmas. He put on a Santa suit then his family delivered gifts to neighbours in need.
Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 7,500 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.
Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:
Gabrielle Giroux
604-691-1655
Sutton Group – Canwest Contact:
Gail Peris
403-208-7788
hwlistings@sutton.com
Comments