Editor’s note: Between Dec. 17 and Dec. 27, The Chatham Voice is proud to share the 10 Stories of Giving. Each day, we follow a different story of Chatham-Kent giving, courtesy of The Gift. To read others, click here.
As told by Chatham Goodfellows’ Tim Haskell:
As a long-time volunteer, I have never experienced the generosity I did being part of The Gift.
Our community came together and made me think of how many people’s lives we have made better this year by giving Chatham-Kent a gift of Christmas.
My biggest moment was walking through the building (at 730 Richmond St.) and seeing how much Chatham donated. I was truly left speechless and felt overjoyed. The overflowing warehouse was truly a big moment because we knew that the donations were going to be someone’s life-changing moment.
The Gift was going to change someone’s life, and many people may not have asked for help if we did not hold this event.
What a defining moment in all my years of volunteering.
I say this because I know how it feels to have a life-changing moment. My mom was someone that found help over 40 years ago and that help came from the Chatham Goodfellows.
By her asking for help, it changed our lives and started a chain reaction for our family. Waking up as a little kid and seeing all the gifts under the tree and having food in our home, that was truly a great moment. Believe it or not I remember the fruit we got! Fruit was something we didn’t get a lot of as kids and still to this day I can smell the fruit and taste the rock candy.
These are memorable, and smells can trigger me to think of Christmas as a kid.
I have since been with the Goodfellows for over 43 years, from getting help from an organization. I knew nothing about Goodfellows and giving until I was a little older.
It was actually ironic that the gifts I received in 1977 would set the stage in 2020 to help organize a community event called The Gift. This is a full-circle moment in my life.
I’m truly honoured to have the opportunity to have helped plan and execute The Gift and make such a positive impact on so many lives. A true privilege.
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“I’ve have met some truly amazing people in my life, but none have been as caring, giving, compassionate, passionate as Tim Haskell when it comes to helping people. He truly is a modern day ‘Tiny Tim,’ so willing to give all he has to others,” said Giant Tiger’s Mark Lush. “Thanks for all you do, Tim. You are such an inspirational community leader. You will always have followers there to help you.”
