If holiday movies have taught us anything, nothing will stop Santa from delivering toys, not even a global pandemic - and the same goes for the staff running the Fraser Heights Secondary Toy Drive.
Heading into its 18th year, the annual toy drive normally involves more than 20 staff, students and volunteers in the woodshop, crafting and painting wooden rocking toys for kids. This year however, the pandemic limited them to about six staff working long hours - but not without the community still wanting to help.
"We had a number of inquiries about what's going on, but unfortunately, we had to turn them down," said shop teacher Martin Lim. "There was a parent who used to come, her daughter and son graduated years ago, but she would still come help.. If not for COVID, she would've been here again this year to help out."
Keeping up with previous years, the in-house staff produced and painted 60 pieces for the Surrey Christmas Bureau: 20 seaplanes, 20 moose, 10 dinosaurs and 10 alligators.
But the pandemic presented another challenge - in addition to producing the same output with a fraction of elves, the Surrey Christmas Bureau had its own limits with their volunteers and available space, meaning Fraser Heights' deadline for completion was much earlier than before.
"The bureau started distributing early, almost mid-November, and that's when we cranked up our hours and said, We'll get them to you ASAP'," said Lim. "We were actually ahead of schedule.
"We dropped off half the load, and we have another half here because they're limited on space. They're going to call us when they have more room."
For fellow shop teacher Chris Mills, the work they do with the toy drive is meaningful, seeing how their hard work and donations lift the spirits of others around the holidays.
"I've always been a big Christmas buff," said Mills. "My house is decorated big, lots of kids really enjoy it, so my main focus of the year is this time of the season. I really enjoy giving these things out and seeing people's faces when they come to get them - that's kind of the kick I get out of it.
"It's a lot of work for us, but that's what makes it worthwhile."
Anyone interested in helping out in the future (when the pandemic ramps down) can mark their calendars. The last week of November is for cutting out and sanding pieces, and the first week of December is for painting and assembly. Everyone is welcome!
