The sound of laughter and live music poured out of Twiggs Coffee Roasters onto Fraser Street Friday morning, a sure sign that Carmine Ricciuti was in the house.
The Carmine Ricciuti Christmas Special has been raising money in support of the North Bay Santa Fund for nearly 30 years with Ricciuti playing Christmas tunes on his accordion, with back up this year by local musicians Marie and Andre.
“I like to play the squeeze box yah,” laughed Ricciuti.
“I do this because I love kids, and I like to support the kids. I don’t want to get paid, I just want to make something nice for the community and for the children.”
During the morning all North Bay Twiggs locations generously donated coffee proceeds to the Christmas Special broadcast live on KiSS 100.5.
As owner of the Twiggs downtown Fraser Street location, Laura Twigg is a proud supporter of the Santa Fund.
“It is our community, this is where we live, and I want to be a part of it. I don’t want to see kids going without for the holidays.”
By the end of the morning rush the Christmas Special managed to raise just over $37,000 for the Santa Fund.
“Basically, every hamper we pack costs us about $375 to $400 to put out. So that money will have a huge impact, that’s about 50 families that are going to be helped just because of the efforts this morning,” explained Santa Fund co-chair Geoff Richardson.
Money collected is used to purchase toys and food for families who struggle during the holiday season.
“We expect right around 400 families this year, so when you think about it, that’s about 12-hundred to 13-hundred people that are going to be helped. Each hamper contains enough groceries for a week as well as a turkey dinner and a gift card for perishable items.”
Richardson says this year’s goal is $175,000.
“Which means now that we’ve got this $37,000, we’re about $63,000 away from our goal and we have eight days to do it. So, we would really like for people to keep us in mind.”
People like Jacqueline Orlando who made her pledge in person.
“We all know there are families in need, and so it is important for us to come together and support families in our community,” explained Orlando.
“My husband Vince was a great supporter of our community, and so I wanted to continue that support on his behalf.”
Local schools also made an impact, as was demonstrated by two grade 12 students who donated $804 on behalf of the students and staff at West Ferris Secondary School.
“Everybody brought in a toonie yesterday, and we put it all together and here we are,” grinned West Ferris student Layney.
“We’ve been doing West Ferris Gives Back over the past couple of weeks, and this is one of the events we do.”
“We took the initiative to raise money for the Santa Fund. We’re always happy to do something good for the community,” added fellow grade 12 student Vanessa.
One of the larger donations was made on behalf of Knight Piesold staff and company for $12-thousand.
This year marks the 76th anniversary of the Santa Fund.
Donations can be made by going online at santafund.ca or by dropping by Gem Sewing in the former Nugget building on Worthington Street up until December 22nd from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Volunteers are also needed to help pack the baskets on Friday, December 22nd at the Canadore College Commerce Court location starting at 5 p.m.
Drivers are also required to the food and toys to families in North Bay the following day, Saturday, December 23rd starting at 9 a.m.
Members of the 33rd Service Battalion play an important role in organizing the packing and deliveries each year.