Friday, November 28, 2014


The warm and fuzzy feeling is what we get from our friends at the Lake Bonavista Promenade!!!!!! 

Every year Vyetta and Bev will stand on their heads and will do an incredible balancing act to ensure we have a successful event at the Lake Bonavista Promenade.

This community really does ”Help us make a Difference!!!!” 16,000 flyers were sent out to the residents announcing when were at their mall. The flyers advertised that we had pre-packaged hampers that they could  purchase or an encouraging nudge to drop off non-perishable food items.

Disappointed we never are. 7 Food Bank collection boxes were filled and $1,300.00 in cash, cheques and gift cards we donated that day.

Thank you Lake Bonavista!!!!!!

Saskatchewan Has A New 18 Wheels Partner !

It is always a pleasure to pick up the phone and get an offer of help on the other end for this worthwhile cause but the call we received today was extra special. Nicole Sinclair from the Saskatchewan Trucking Association called Carrie Willey and asked if we could partner up in Regina at their location to collect on behalf of the Regina Food Bank !

Naturally, Carrie jumped at this opportunity and the phone lines were buzzing. Her first call was to Todd McCauley at the The Regina Food Bank who was very grateful for the help. Stay tuned for more details on the when and where!

And a Huge Welcome Aboard to the Saskatchewan Trucking Association! Thanks for pulling together with us for those in need!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

It's Heating Up In Calgary!`



Calgary is off to a good start!!!!!
 
November 21 you could find us at the annual Okotoks Holiday Light Up. A fantastic way to kick of the Christmas Season.
The weather could not have been nicer if we had ordered it especially for this night. As always the main street is shut down to vehicle traffic which is a good idea as there isn’t a sidewalk built which could hold the amount of participants this festival attracts.
 
Once Mark had parked the 18 Wheels of Christmas unit and had the stairs in place it was time for Chris, Janet, Kent and Colleen to work their magic keeping up with the crowds of people wanting to donate to the local Food Bank. It was a solid stream of people purchasing hampers, leaving purchased donations and cash.

The evening ends with a fireworks display and us turning over to Krysten, Executive Director, of the Okotoks Food Bank close to $3000.00 in cash, 140 prepackaged hampers and $500.00 in food donations. It took 2 pickup trucks to haul the food away!!!!!









Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Saskatoon Update!



Saskatoon is off to a great start!

18 Wheels Of Christmas in Saskatoon raised another $311.42 and received over 100 pounds of food while situated at Independent Grocers at 2815 Waneskewin Road Nov 23rd. We are scheduled to set up again December 6th and 7th as well as December 13th from 9:30 am until 2:30 pm. We would like to invite everyone to come out and see us. For $1.00 you have a chance to win one of three gift cards. A $200.00 Keg gift card  A $150.00 Chili’s card and A $100.00 Tim Horton Card. All the proceeds go to purchasing much needed baby food and other non-perishable items for the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre.

Once again we are excited and thrilled to receive 12-15 skids from Maple Leaf Foods to take down with the trailer on delivery day December 16th at 10:00 am.

Thank you ALL for your continued support and heartfelt donations to make this campaign a success for those in need in Saskatoon.

Friday, November 21, 2014

12,000 or 120,000?

What an incredible two day event in Dawson Creek BC! Well over half a trailer load of food, thousands in cash donations and hundreds of new toys filled the trailer. What is more amazing is that this all occurred in a community of 12,000 people but they gave like they were 120,000!

The United Way/Salvation Army 18 Wheels of Christmas event was a phenomenal success! We have so many great stories.

We had a three year old boy come up to the trailer with his Mom and told Santa Claus that he had emptied out his piggy bank and bought two boxes of macaroni. He made his Mom cry as well as all the girls that we had on hand volunteering. The guys went around the trailer and ummmm...just did some other stuff....



We had a woman come up with well over $200 in new toys and her three children. She told us that the year before, her family was not doing well and had to rely on the food bank to help get them through Christmas. The Salvation Army provided toys for the kids and helped with extra food and a Christmas hamper. Now, she and her husband both have good jobs and it is their family mission to give back this year....






 Another lady came up and told us quite matter of factly that she has NEVER donated anything to anyone, but when she saw what we were doing and why we were doing it, she came back from the store with a full cart of groceries.

 There were many other stories but suffice to say, we had a terrific time and I can't thank all the volunteers who stepped up, braved the cold and spent two days...making a difference...
















Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Live and On Location !

Live and On Location in Dawson Creek BC. The trailer is completed, lights are on and it looks sharp. Thanks to all the elves who gave so much time to this effort. We are all ready for the United Way Toy and Salvation Army Food Drive kicking off tomorrow at 10:00 am! Our volunteers from Nawichan Friendship Centre,  Calfrac, United Way and the Salvation Army are all lined up! This is a two day event so stay tuned! Also a huge thank you to the Dawson Creek Co-Op for the use of their parking lot and promoting the event in store!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014


We were thrilled to be asked to be a part of Independent Grocers open house this past weekend November 8th and 9th to sell raffle tickets to the public and receive donations of non-perishable food for our Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center.

 

We will go LIVE with Global tomorrow morning promoting the 18 Wheels of Christmas trailer prior to the Annual Santa Claus Parade this weekend on Sunday November 16th at 1:00 pm as well as CTV News on Friday November 14th.

 

We are excited to spend more time at the Independent Grocers at 2815 Waneskewin Road on November 22nd and 23rd.

 

The 18 Wheels of Christmas trailer for Saskatoon will deliver to the Food Bank on December 16th.  We have already been receiving monetary donations to help with purchasing food and other companies wishing to donate food and put together hampers for us to pick up.

 

It is another exciting time here in Saskatoon and we are thrilled that so many people have pulled together to make this campaign a success!

 

Carrie Willey

Friday, November 7, 2014

Santa's Elves are hard at work !

Here in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, being that much closer to the North Pole has it's advantages. Santa's elves have a short break before their busy season kicks in so they have been hard at work polishing every square inch of our 18 Wheels trailer in preparation for it's Northern events. It looks great! Can't wait to see the lights and the finished package!