Members of the 102 Sarnia First Hussars Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps are hoping to spread holiday cheer to Canadian soldiers who are overseas.
Training Officer Cadet Jeremy Kearney said for the first time, Sarnia Army Cadets will collect cards from the public during the upcoming Santa Claus parade to send to members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
"We thought it would be great for our soldiers overseas to get a letter because maybe not everyone can get something like that from family or whatnot," Kearney said. "So we thought we would introduce this initiative."
Kearney said the idea came out of a recent committee meeting.
"We were thinking of other ways we could promote ourselves in the Christmas parade," he said. "It's an initiative that happens all year-round, you can send letters to CAF members overseas. We thought during Christmas time, it'd be the perfect idea, and it kind of fits with the theme of the Christmas parade this year, Christmas at Home. So maybe they'll feel more at home with a letter."
The Sarnia Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade will be held on December 6 at 6 p.m. The downtown parade will begin from Christina Street and Exmouth Street.
Kearney said collected cards will be mailed on December 8.
"There's an address that we send to in Bellville, and they send them off," he said. "I do know a lot of CAF members have been deployed out to Latvia, so I would assume a lot of the letters would probably go [there]. But they would be going to any CAF member across the country and the world."
For those unable to attend the parade, cards can also be dropped off at the Sarnia Armouires, located at 574 Confederation St., on December 3 between 6:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.
Cadets were also sent home with letters to share details of the initiative with their classmates.
