With over 15 volunteers participating in the planning, building and hosting of the 2024 Hallowe’en Howl, DICES was able to raise over $800 in support of the food bank and recreational programming for children on Denman Island. Big thanks to DICES Council members Kevin, Ann, Enrico and Laura for coming out on the scariest night of the year to make a memorable night of “funraising” in our community. The soundtrack for the night was just excellent thanks to DJ “Pandamonium” – thank you for your time and expertise. To all of the spooksters who came out in full regalia as terrifying characters in the barn; you outdid yourselves and scared all of us at least once. Everyone’s safety and fun was in focus thanks to our Haunted Barn guides Mikel and Nolan and we can’t forget Gary, the host with the most (who might also be a ghost) for sharing the historic Piercy barn and the Shack for a super fun night. We had two groups of friends participate in the “Trick Your Trunk” which was very popular with kids of all ages. We hope to see you and more of our friends participating next year. Another thank you to Shel’s group “Awesome Adventures” for the donation of hot dogs and buns and some treats – much appreciated by all the hungry goblins. The biggest thank you goes to our community for coming out and supporting our efforts. We hope you had fun and that we’ll see you next year!
Our annual Holiday Hamper program is now underway. The hampers are organized by Denman Islanders for Denman Islanders and are partially funded through grants from larger organizations in our area. Last year we provided 42 hampers serving a total of 92 people. At this time we expect to support even more families and individuals this year due to the increasing numbers of food bank users in the last several months.
To fill the hampers, we are accepting cash and cheque donations via the donation jars at the General Store, the Denman Island Hardware Store and in the foyer of the Community School. Please make out cheques to DICES. Donations over $50 are eligible to receive a charitable tax receipt! We also accept e-transfers to dices.communityprograms@gmail.com and donations through canadahelps.org. For planning and budgeting purposes, we would appreciate it if all monetary donations are submitted by December 12th.
There are two ways that community members can share in the gift giving this year. We will be accepting new unwrapped gifts at the Denman Hardware Store (thanks Graham and Verna!) starting in mid-November. Look for the big box near the front of the store.
We are also facilitating an “Adopt A Family” program this year. Families or individuals in the community apply to select and purchase gifts for their anonymous “adopted” family. Once the gifts and other items are purchased, “adoptive” families can bring their gifts to the DICES office and we will make sure they land safely in the “adopted” family’s hamper along with all the fixings for a Holiday feast and some treats for the holiday season.
We welcome helping hands on the morning of December 21, when we will be wrapping presents, packing, and delivering the hampers. If you would like to lend a hand, send an email to dices.communityprograms@gmail.com or leave a message at 250-335-2058.
To receive a Holiday Hamper please fill out the form that you can find at the General Store, the Food Bank, and the School foyer. You can also find the form at www.dices.ca.
Thank you Denman Islanders for your ongoing support for the Holiday Hampers!
