It was the day before Christmas and outside the Dome, the Flames alumni collected toys to take to their new homes.
The arena was transformed into Santa’s workshop this week when the Alumni Association held its annual toy drive.
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Former assistant captain Rhett Warrener brought the initiative to Calgary after being inspired by the efforts of Buffalo bully Rob Ray.
The event was scaled down and moved out of this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak that swept through the NHL.
The alumni were supposed to collect donations from the relative heat of the esplanade, but instead braved the scorching wind and freezing temperatures for hours as fans left toys on the Saddledome loop.
“It’s definitely not nice,” Warrener joked. “We haven’t had many Chinooks for our toy delivery days.”
After filling several containers with donations, it was time to bring reinforcements on wrapping day. Namely, his children.
“It was really chaotic,” said Karter Glencross. She and her sister Paisley were tasked with assigning items to different age groups for adults to wrap up.
“It was fun choosing what the kids would like.”
On a chilly Christmas Eve, Perry Berezan, Joel Otto, Colin Patterson, Warrener, Glencross, and their families loaded up their vehicles and fanned out through the Forest Lawn neighborhood to deliver gifts with the help of the Calgary Police Service.
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Due to the pandemic, students were unable to enter any homes, but posed for photographs on the lawn and chatted with excited families who would not otherwise have any presents to open on Christmas Day.
In some homes, the delivery box was large enough for some children to cheer on the playground.
“Some kids are really excited and delighted, and some are really shy, just like children,” Warrener added.
“It’s like when they see Harvey the Hound – some of them will just attack and some of them cower and hide because they’re a little nervous. You never know what kind of reaction you’ll get, but usually in the end when you see toys and stuff, they have big smiles on their faces. “
“It was amazing,” said Cherylee, a mother. “We could finish (unwrapping it) tonight. We’ll see how excited they really are. They are pretty all over the place right now! “
The team also handed out gift cards for adults.
“Times are tough for the families we are giving away to and we look forward to making their day and having a good Christmas,” said Otto.
Eleven families from the Calgary Police Foundation Integrated School Support Program were chosen to receive the gifts this holiday season, in total.
The remainder of the gifts were donated to the Calgary Women in Need Society (WINS).
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While alumni hope the event will return to normal in 2022, the event remains a Christmas tradition they are very proud of.
“It’s not about how many presents you have and what you have under the tree,” Glencross said. “We prefer to support a family that we can help in case of need.
“We want to instill that in our family, our children and our values. That’s probably why it’s one of our favorite events to do. “
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