How it works

As we say goodbye to 2025 and welcome in 2026, we at the Wakefield Community Emergency Fund would like to share with you some numbers from our programs and the financial assistance we have been able to provide in our community over the past year.

It is thanks to all of you, the people, the businesses, the fundraisers and everyone who has supported us this past year in any and all capacities, that we are able to do this, we are forever grateful for the trust the community has in our organization. Thank you, thank you!

Winter Programs

We have many partners for these programs and want to acknowledge the importance of our partners who ensure success and help us accomplish the goals of reaching families who could use a little extra help during the busy Christmas season. Once again, we are extremely thankful for this support.

We have partnered with the Low Down to Hull and Back since 2011, they help us in many ways by writing articles on the happenings of the WCEF, designing and preparing the poster used for Toy Mountain, promoting through their wonderful newspaper, assisting with sorting toys and basically doing whatever is needed.

Our local Giant Tiger also plays a huge part with both Snowsuits and Toy Mountain campaigns. We are able to supply them with our list for snowsuits needs and they ensure we have everything required and also provide a discount on the final purchase. They also participate in Toy Mountain with the Angel Tree and a 20% discount on all toys purchased for Toy Mountain.

The Wakefield General Store (WGS) has been a huge supporter for over 12 years with their Christmas Points Card Campaign. This initiative allows patrons of their store to give their points to the WCEF and the Wakefield General Store kindly matches that up to $2500. Since inception the WGS has donated over $30,000 for groceries and helped raise another $50,000 with help from their amazing customers. With all these donations from the community plus the WGS donation it allows the WCEF to provide food cards throughout the year for fresh food and all amenities (no alcohol or cigarettes).

We also work with the WGS to prepare and deliver nutritious food boxes that provide everything for a hearty Christmas dinner plus more. We also want to acknowledge Apiverte who consistently provides fresh delicious jars of local honey to include in the Christmas Hampers.

Snowsuits – 18 youths

Toy Mountain – 69 children

Christmas Food Hampers – 26 families

Wakefield General Store Points Card Campaign – Customers donation $5311.00 / WGS donation $2500 for a grand total of $7,811.00!

In addition to our winter programming, throughout the year we are able to support local schools’ food programs and provide funding to the Wakefield Food Pantry. In 2025, we worked closely with the Food Pantry for their distribution of Christmas hampers as the need had increased from previous years.

Financial Aid 2025

In 2025 the WCEF was able to provide close to $33,500 in financial assistance to individuals, families, schools and local food pantries. In addition to this, approximately $10,200 of assistance was provided via our Wakefield General Store point card account.

Always remember, we are here for those in need to provide assistance in a timely manner. Everything we do and everyone we work with remains strictly confidential. The process is efficient, and every board member strives to communicate with sensitivity to all applicants, for their comfort. WCEF Board is able to provide responses quickly to help alleviate the emergency that families or individuals are facing.

Volunteers

At the WCEF we are a small board of five people, therefore our volunteers are key to success. We want to give a shout out to some of our key volunteers who have been helping us out in some capacity each year for many years.

Janice Moore and Jacqui Fitzpatrick – Janice and Jacqui take the reigns each year to make the winter programs successful. They bring in additional volunteers for the toy sorting annually and we want to acknowledge the dedication of this team.

Tim Appleby – Tim has quietly and competently managed the WCEF website since inception, we are so thankful for his knowledge and dedication.

Barb Cerson – Barb uses her skills to assist with accounting needs as required and has become a key volunteer for the WCEF.

Many folks organize fundraisers with proceeds going to the WCEF every year. All the money from fundraisers is used within the community for either financial aid or our winter programs, wherever the need dictates. These dedicated individuals and groups are so devoted to the community, the time and energy put into these events is significant and we are beyond grateful they think about choosing the WCEF as a recipient.

All the volunteers help the WCEF maintain our administration costs at less than 1%, since 2009!

May your 2026 be filled with love, laughter, hope and peace.

It is hard to believe another year has come and gone, and what a year!!! The WCEF wants to take this time to give a huge shoutout to our community and local businesses who are always so extremely supportive of our cause.

The Wakefield Community Emergency Fund’s (WCEF) winter programs were hugely successful, and we would like to share some numbers and some mentions specifically for these programs that flow through our community.

Snow Suit Drive: Over 30 new snowsuits were provided for children in need this year. A huge shout out to Giant Tiger for their support in this initiative.

Toy Mountain: Over 80 children benefited from the Toy Drive. We cannot thank the Low Down to Hull and Back News and Giant Tiger enough for their huge support in this initiative. The Low Down has been partnering with WCEF for Toy Mountain since 2011. Through their dedicated advertising and promotion, awareness of the need is increased during a season where many could use the help. @giant tiger also went above and beyond this year, in addition to their promotion, Angel tree and discounted toy prices, they donated $500 worth of toys

Our very special thanks go to Janice Moore and Jacqui Fitzpatrick who work so hard to spearhead both the Snow Suit and Toy Mountain programs, and they are a huge part of the success of these campaigns.

Wakefield General Store Points Campaign: Wow!!! What an amazing year! Thanks to everyone who donated their points back prior to December 22^nd, an incredible $3,976.35 was raised through this Campaign and the WGS, as they have kindly done for many years, donated an additional $2500.00. These points allow the WCEF to provide much-needed supplies and fresh goods to local families in need throughout the year.

In addition to the Points Campaign the WCEF works with the Wakefield General Store to prepare Christmas food hampers. In 2024 we were able to provide 22 food hampers to local community members! We are extremely grateful to be able to partner with the WGS in both initiatives. Apiverte has also been a wonderful partner for the hampers by donating their local homegrown honey to add a special touch to the hampers.

We also want to thank all the organizers of the local fundraisers, such as just in recent months: The Wakefield Christmas Market, the ongoing fundraising events at the Kaffe 1870, Return of the Light Event, and the Carpenters Ball. We know there are many others throughout the year, and we want everyone to know how much these events are appreciated.

We simply could not do what we do without all the many generous financial donations, that we receive from individuals and local businesses throughout the year. These donations help us reach our goals and sustain the viability of the Fund to address needs immediately.

Lastly, in addition to providing financial support for families and individuals we were once again this year able to support the Wakefield Food Pantry as well as supplement local school food programs throughout the year.

Thanks to all of the above, in 2024 the WCEF provided over $45,000 in financial assistance to individuals or families facing emergencies out of their control and support our ongoing programs (this excludes the WGS points).  With a grand total of close to $320,000 since 2009.

Bravo to all of you! Obviously, this Fund belongs to the community, board members simply manage it on your behalf.

May 2025 bring everyone hope, happiness and light!