The spirit of Christmas was alive in Salmon Valley this weekend, as the community came together to celebrate the season with a pandemic friendly Santa drive.
On Saturday (Dec. 19), members of the Prince George region's volunteer fire department and Community Association wanted to do something special for the residents after the annual Santa’s Breakfast was cancelled this year by COVID-19.
With goodie bags filled with gifts purchased and put together by the Community Association, volunteer firefighters toured Salmon Valley with Santa, delivering gifts to some extremely excited children.
Lights and sirens echoed through Salmon Valley while children and their families waited patiently to see Santa arriving in a big red fire truck.
Santa, sporting a festive mask met the children at the end of their driveway leaving a gift bag for them to collect. He then stood in the background, while children posed for a festive photograph and grinning from ear to ear.
“Christmas is going to be quite different this year, and the volunteers of the Salmon Valley Community Association and Salmon Valley Volunteer Fire Department wanted to make it special for their neighbours,” says resident Bobbi Caprino.
“Our volunteer firefighters are often responding to situations when someone is experiencing a painful event. It warms our hearts, as first responders, to be able to see smiles on our neighbours’ faces when we are pulling up to their home. We are fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers in the community association who are always ready to pull our community events together.”
She says images and videos highlighting the event were then shared throughout the community’s social media pages, much to the delight of local residents.
“We know that the next couple of weeks is going to be challenging for a lot of folks out there," Caprino adds.
"A lot of us are grasping at something to make this holiday season special. Our hope is that we will inspire others to find some joy and to find ways to connect with others, give back and pay it forward in a safe way.”
