Teletech delivers big time

Teletech EPIC Committee members deliver for the third year in a row.

For the past several years employees of Teletech have lent Santa a helping hand by delivering gifts to the Children’s Aid Society headquarters on Main Street West.

This year was no exception as the Epic Committee delivered three car loads of gifts in an effort to help make Christmas a bit brighter for the children who are in the care of the Society.

Epic Committee member and project leader Kymberly Budge says the initiative was developed by the committee, however, the event is 100 percent employee driven and this year the employees outdid themselves.

She explained that the committee puts up a Christmas tree in the centre’s lobby with tags identifying a child’s first name, age, and sex. The employees then freely come and take a tag and purchase a present that is age appropriate with their own funds, and then deliver the tag along with the gift under the tree. The committee then wraps the presents and delivers them to CAS.

“We always ask for 100 children’s names, and they go fast,” she says.

“Within the first or second day all the tags are gone and this year we had 165 names in the end.”

Budge says that while the employees raised the bar topping the 137 names filled last year the centre can still do far more.

“Everyone certainly exceeded our expectations, my goal is to have 200 names filled next year. The more we increase the more children we reach,” she says.

With a number of holiday charities in the community Budge says it is just as easy to go out and support one of the popular causes, but the committee has a mandate to help kids as well as a strong working relationship with the CAS.
“The Santa Fund is well known and the CAS needed our help,” she says.

“And we know so many kids need our help and we want them to receive the same type of Christmas other kids are having.”

Ray Beauchamp, CAS Manager of Finance and Administration, told Baytoday that Teletech’s commitment to providing the presents for the kids brightens the staff’s spirits.

“It’s a real boost to the staff’s morale. It’s a busy time of the year for us and this is such a strong relationship that it takes a lot of pressure off the staff,” he says.

With the holidays stressing families over finances the goal of CAS is to keep families together and Teletech is helping them do just that.

“All parents want to give to children,” says Beauchamp.

“Having the families know that there will be presents under the tree takes the pressure off the parents.”

Budge says the staff has a great deal of spirit and dedication when it comes to this particular event.

“It makes you want to cry when you see the response,” she says.

“Employees and there extended families all get involved and you just feel joyful, warmth and kindness. This year a friend to Teletech, Gilles Langlois, also helped with the toy drive," she explains.

"Gilles is fighting cancer and as part of his therapy he does woodworking, and he donated the wooden tags for each of the gifts.”

Budge says the ball starts rolling in mid December with the first phone call requesting the names and it just snowballs from there.