WINNIPEG, Dec. 1, 2016 /CNW/ - Santa Claus is in town
to make an early delivery of gifts to the Winnipeg Military Family
Resource Centre's Doncaster street youth facility as six military
family youth officially unveil their art creation to their families
and friends. It's all part of the 11th annual
Sears Operation Wish program that this year worked together with
the Winnipeg MFRC to create a legacy piece of art to showcase what
it means to celebrate being a family, particularly over the Holiday
season.
Under the direction of local art consultant Dori Laine, six children, between 7-13-years
old, drew pictures for each season on a 4x8 foot piece of hardboard
constructed to look like a window frame. The winter window is
all about Christmas family celebrations in keeping with the Sears
Operation Wish theme of celebrating families throughout the Holiday
season.
"I spent time with these young people while they were creating
their mural and one of the great things to watch was their
interpretation of the preliminary pictures for each of the seasons
as each child brought their own flair to the project and enhanced
it with their imaginations, said Michael
Dutka, Store Manager, Sears Polo Park. "It was
wonderful to watch this mural grow from a blank canvas into a
stunning piece. My colleagues and I took away a lasting
memory of why Sears Operation Wish is such a cherished program for
all of us at Sears Canada. We launched this initiative in
2006 and have held true to its purpose of honouring and recognizing
the often selfless contribution military personnel and their
families make to our communities and our country, especially at
this time of year. Its focus is on the importance and
strength of families with an emphasis on the Holiday season
particularly because so many members of the military are away from
their families and loved ones at this time of the year."
The youth will take centre stage on Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 6 p.m. to officially unveil their mural to
families, friends and Winnipeg MFRC staff. Unbeknownst to
them and their families is the early visit by Santa Claus and his
Sears elves who will be delivering games, sports equipment
and other items from the MFRC's wish list of things they needed to
refresh and refurbish their youth centre facilities.
"Our partnership with Sears Operation Wish has just been a
wonderful experience for all of us. We are very proud of the
mural. We see it as a legacy piece of art that will be hung
for a long time at our youth facility," said John Bailey, Youth Centre Coordinator, Winnipeg
MFRC. "The Winnipeg Military Family Resource Centre
recognizes that military families are the strength behind the
uniform. We are thrilled to receive continued support from Sears
Canada, and today's generous donation will make a difference for
our youth who access our programs every day."
As well this year, Sears is holding its sixth annual Military
Family Discount shopping day on Sunday,
December 4, 2016 coast-to-coast and through all of its
channels: Sears Department stores, Sears Home stores, Sears
Hometown stores, all current Sears catalogues and on
www.sears.ca The family discount shopping day provides 15%
savings on apparel, fashion accessories, home and leisure products
(Home Electronic products are excluded in this offer), and is
on top of non-exclusionary items already on sale. It is a
one-day, 24-hour Holiday shop based on Eastern Standard Time from
midnight to 11:59 p.m. on
Sunday, December 4, 2016.
Sears Canada is donating
$10,000 to help support local
Military Family Resource Centres' local youth oriented programs
along with a percentage of funds raised through sales of its
special, limited edition plush bear, Owen. 100% of the
proceeds from the sale of Owen are donated to the Sears
Canada Charitable Foundation which will donate a percentage of
those proceeds to local MFRCs on an equal basis.
Since its inception, the Sears Operation Wish program has
donated more than $180,000 to support
both national and local military family youth programs.
About Sears Canada:
Sears Canada is a multi-channel
retailer with a network that includes 145 corporate stores, 76
Hometown stores, over 1,000 catalogue and online merchandise
pick-up locations, 80 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide repair
and service network. Sears Canada is the #1 retailer of major
appliances in Canada with all top
ten brands. The Company also publishes Canada's most extensive general merchandise
catalogue and offers shopping online at www.sears.ca
About the Winnipeg Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC)
The Winnipeg Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) has been
serving military families since 1991. Our mission statement states,
we 'develop resiliency by supporting a mission-ready community of
strong military families'. Military lifestyle isn't always easy for
families and their quality of life may be affected by many factors,
including postings and deployments. It is our role to support the
4,000 families of Canadian Armed Forces members living in
Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, ON and surrounding areas by
providing programs and services which promote health, education and
social well-being. The MFRC is a family governed federally funded,
non-profit organization with charitable status.
SOURCE Sears Canada Inc.