Dustin Koenig has been a volunteer delivery driver for 630 CHED Santas Anonymous for 10 years. It’s a family tradition he does with his two daughters, Samantha and Natalie.
“You can’t teach this in school,” Koenig said. “Everyone worries about little things in life and look at this, people need help and every little bit of help – you can donate your time – makes a huge difference in someone’s life.”
However, this year was a challenging one for Koenig and it nearly derailed his family’s volunteering plans.
“I lost my job. The economy was pretty bad so what can you do? I had a company truck to do all the deliveries in so I didn’t have that any more… I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he said.
“Then I started brainstorming, had the idea of getting Driving Force involved… Emailed them, they got on board with the idea, donated a truck for me, donated gas… and then we can continue on the tradition. It’s great.”
READ MORE: Spirit of giving comes full circle for Santas Anonymous recipients
No matter the challenges, the Koenig family is committed to the charity and to the community.
“It’s good to help others because everyone else is struggling too,” Samantha, 17, said.
“It’s not just one person; it’s everyone. So just come by, do a little helping and you’ll feel good.”
Watch below: The Koenig family volunteers for Santas Anonymous in 2009
All three were thrilled to back at Santa’s Workshop this week, getting gifts packed up and ready for delivery for families across Edmonton.
“It just makes me so happy to see everyone – even in the toughest times like this – great people come out for a great experience at the right time to help out,” Koenig said.
READ MORE: Top 5 ways Edmontonians can help out in the community without cash
The Koenig trio has always been first in line at 6 a.m. on Saturday to pick up their special deliveries. Samantha uses GPS to help navigate the delivery route while eight-year-old Natalie helps present the gifts to excited families.
“We go to a house, we knock on the door, ask their name to see if it’s the right one, give it to them and then a see a child jumping up and down on the stairs, running down,” she said.
“When I shut the door I hear… ‘Open it up! Open it up!'”
For more information on how you can support Santas Anonymous, visit 630 CHED’s website.
The event expects to deliver gift bags to about 25,000 Edmonton families this season.
Santas Anonymous relies on donors and volunteers. It takes about 12,000 volunteer hours to sort, wrap and package gifts and about 1,200 drivers are needed to make deliveries.
Comments