The Little Elves Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support and comfort to isolated people living with HIV/Aids throughout Canada, delivered its last Christmas gift basket Saturday, wrapping up 25 years of giving..to wrap up its 25th anniversary.
Founder Sylvain Duhamel gathered 200 volunteers in December to wrap nearly 4,000 gifts that ranged from sweets to practical items such as wool socks.
WATCH BELOW: Little Elves get ready to spread Christmas cheer
In its existence, the Little Elves Foundation has given away up to 45,000 gifts, according to Duhamel.
The foundation began a few months after Duhamel lost his brother to HIV/Aids after a two year bout. Feeling as though he needed to do something, Duhamel began giving away small gifts to people affected by the virus.
“I wasn’t feeling capable of helping directly like I did with my brother,” Duhamel said. “I tried to find something that would make a difference but without being too close. [So] I went to the dollar store and I bought 20 gifts. Took down the address of four houses I knew [were helping people with HIV/AIDS] and I delivered them.”
Now, 25 years on and 45,000 gifts later, Duhamel is still filled with the same sense of purpose with every basket he hands out.