Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

CHRISTMAS GIVING

Kamloops residents step up and provide Christmas gifts for women and children fleeing violence

Dec 14, 2020 | 3:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Family Stepping Stones program run by the Kamloops and District Elizabeth Fry Society gives women fleeing violence a supportive long-term place to live while they seek a new start for themselves or their families. Often, these families don’t have much except for a few clothes and belongings they bring when they enter the program. However, this year, some Kamloops locals have stepped up to ensure these women and their kids will have a Merry Christmas.

He looks way more like Johnny Cash than Santa Claus; underneath his black work clothes and mask, Lyle Russett has a heart the size of a Dodge Ram pickup truck.

“Well this year is especially bad because of what everybody is going through, but every year is the same,” Russett tells CFJC Today. “There are people in need every year. It doesn’t matter where you are, or who you are — people need help.”

Russett works at Rivershore Chrysler. He and his wife had planned to give the gift of a turkey dinner with all the trimmings to the Kamloops and District Elizabeth Fry Society this year. However, COVID-19 derailed those plans. So instead, Elena Markin asked if he’d be willing to sponsor Christmas for a family.

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“She gave me a list of some of the families to help — help this family or this family, what they need,” Russett explains. “After my wife and I looked at the list, we just bought everything on the list.”

Essentials like hygiene products and diapers, even gently worn winter coats right out of Lyle’s wife’s closet. All important stuff for the families in the program. When he took the idea to his employer at Rivershore Chrysler, they stepped up and bought toys for the kids. And Lyle isn’t the only person to step forward to provide for these families.

“It was just a way to celebrate Christmas without my family,” Berniece Machuk says.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

Machuk’s kids and grandkids live in Alberta, so visiting them this year wasn’t an option. Instead, she wanted to help out women and children who might not have any families they could turn to at Christmas.

“I empathize with moms in that situation,” Machuk explains. “Being a mom was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know how important my children are. It touched my heart and I wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

For Family Stepping Stones Program Coordinator Nicole Obrigavitch, these gifts represent something much bigger than just the items these families will unwrap on Christmas.

“It’s about community, right?” Obrigavitch says. “A lot of the ladies, when they come to us, they feel isolated and they have a lot of issues surrounding trust. It’s really great to see there are people who care about them and want to help without motives. That’s a great thing.”

For Russett, this time of year means trying to brighten the season for folks who may need a hand.

“There are lots of programs. Elizabeth Fry is a great one, but there are other ones that need help, too,” he says. “If you can help, do it.”