As the Montreal Canadiens players were getting ready to take on the St. Louis Blues yesterday, the players' significant others were hard at work wrapping presents for Operation Pere Noël.
With Christmas fast approaching, the Montreal Canadiens players’ significant others lend a hand to the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation by wrapping up some presents for Operation Père Noël.
This program aims to make Christmas memorable for Children who would otherwise be left off Santa’s list through no fault of their own, as their family struggles to make ends meet. This program was created all the way back in 1995, and the Canadiens started getting involved in 2007.
Last year, according to the Operation Père Noel website, 33,975 children were helped by the program, and over 50,000 gifts were distributed. Since its inception in 1995, the initiative has helped 235,000 kids.
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In a nutshell, Operation Père Noel gives the team letters to Santa written by underprivileged kids, and members of the organization get to play Santa by buying the gifts the kids requested. Then, the players’ spouses are tasked with wrapping the presents before they are sent to Operation Pere Noel, who organizes the distribution to kids.
This is just one way the organization gives back to the community, and it will soon be holding another one of its holiday traditions when the players visit kids in the city’s hospitals.
Last season, the event was held on December 11, and players attended three hospitals: the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the CHU Ste-Justine and the Montreal Shriners Hospital. That initiative was launched over 50 years ago by the late, great Jean Beliveau and remains an event loved by the players, who get to bring some holiday cheer to sick kids and their parents by just showing up and delivering little gift bags.
Given how much love the team receives from the city all through the year, it’s great to see it give back to the most vulnerable, especially around Christmas, a time when every kid should be happy and enjoying themselves.
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