NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. — A Florence woman is bringing forward the holiday spirit without the price tag.
Having moved to Cape Breton from Ontario a little over a year ago, Briana Berardinelli said her first winter on the island was a difficult one.
The 20-year-old said she had little resources to provide for her family at an expensive time of year.
“It’s a hard time especially around Christmas and you’re trying to support yourself or your family,” said Berardinelli.
“I’ve got a toddler at home and last year Christmastime was a very, very hard time for us.”
Berardinelli applied for funding under the Rising Youth program offered by the federal government under the Canada Services Corps program.
She successfully picked up a $1,500 grant to host what she's calling ‘Santa is Coming to Town,’ a project that will unfold Wednesday, Dec. 18 inside donated space at the exhibition grounds on Regent Street.
The event takes place between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Among the activities will be photographs with Santa, along with children's crafts, games, light refreshments and snacks.
“I hope it makes a lot of people happy and I hope it makes their Christmas a lot easier,” said Berardinelli.
In the midst of completing a high school diploma, Berardinelli was recently accepted to Nova Scotia Community College’s social services program.
“They don’t have to worry about paying for anything,” she said of Wednesday's open house.
“We’re going to be emailing pictures straight to them right after they’re taken. Kids can come in and paint or colour and make some crafts to bring home to put on the tree to show their parents.”
Berardinelli has also gathered clothing, toys and is in the process of creating boxes of food and other necessities should anyone need them.
There will hats and gloves on hand available for the taking.
“I just wish that when I was going through that there were more programs or something out there that could have helped us out,” she said.
“I just wanted to be able to give back to the community for anybody who needs it.”
To help out with donations to Berardinelli's project she can be reached at 902-217-3141 or by emailing [email protected].
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