Walkers for the Make a Wish Foundation, in Santa costumes, provide a “Hallmark Thing”
Seeing eight Santas with wishes on their agenda walking through small town New Brunswick just over two weeks before Christmas is definitely a Hallmark Christmas moment.
While only eight people were available to participate on Dec. 9 for the Ho Ho Ho Holiday Walk fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation, they managed to deliver plenty of Christmas spirit on a sunny winter day.
Event organizer Joy Hanson said they got a late start to organizing the 2023 walk but plan to get an earlier start next year. Although this year’s walk raised only $73 for the Make a Wish Foundation, it raised plenty of Christmas spirit among those they encountered in the five-kilometre walk through Woodstock.
“We had a blast doing it around the loop,” said Hanson. “We had kids come out to have their pictures taken with us and honks, cheers, Ho Ho Hos, and people even videotaping us.”
Hanson said a Woodstock teacher told her that the walkers made a lasting impact on her daughter as she arrived in Woodstock to visit.
“My daughter came to visit on Saturday and said she saw the most ‘Hallmark thing’ while driving through town,” the teacher told Hanson.
Only after Hanson posted about the walk on Facebook did the teacher fully understand what her daughter witnessed.
Hanson said the Ho Ho Ho Holiday walkers enjoyed the positive reaction they received, noting one jogger donated three dollars as she passed by. Others donated after seeing Facebook posts.
“Next year, we’ll start earlier and raise more for this worthwhile organization,” Hanson said.
