Some of 120 Christmas Trees that will be on display for public viewing during a pair of open houses Dec. 7 and 14 at 42 Comfort Close in Red Deer from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. both days.

By Sheldon Spackman

Festive Fundraiser

“Sofia’s Night of Hundreds of Trees” supporting Central Alberta Humane Society

Dec 4, 2019 | 3:35 PM

A local couple is once again putting their love for the holidays to use for a great cause.

Vince Jackman and Tom Kereluk are hosting Sofia’s Night of Hundreds of Trees where residents can view their collection of 120 beautifully-decorated Christmas trees and make a donation to the Central Alberta Humane Society.

Open houses take place Dec. 7 and 14 from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at their home at 42 Comfort Close in Clearview Meadows.

Jackman says the event has evolved from just a small cheesecake party that began several years ago.

“It’s just grown over the years and we raise quite a bit of money and food supplies, everything like that for the shelter on that one night,” he explains. “People got wind of it and so then we started opening it up to the general public and it’s raised quite a bit of money and everything for the shelter.”

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With the open house-style format being a big success over the past couple of years, Jackman hopes this year will be no exception.

“We have 120 trees throughout the house,” says Jackman. “There’s small, little ones, all the way up to the 12 foot one that’s in the main living room, and they all have different themes and everything that are attached to the trees. We also have a huge village and everything in the basement as well.”

Jackman says donations of treats, cleaning products or other items for the Central Alberta Humane Society can also be made.

“Once the open houses are done, all the products and everything will be taken down to the shelter,” adds Jackman. “On average, per year, for these open houses and the cheesecake party, it’s about a $5,000 donation impact, whether its cash donations, or the cleaning products or stuff that they need to run day-to-day operations with the dogs and cats that we have in the centre.”

Being a not-for-profit organization, Jackman says the Central Alberta Humane Society doesn’t receive government funding for the work that they do, so any help the community can provide is very much appreciated.

“We strictly rely on these types of functions,” says Jackman, who sits on the organization’s board of directors. “Last week we held our Raise the Woof with the comedians and everything here in town and we had 600 people come out and enjoy and support the shelter for that function, so every donation that we get in to the shelter goes a long way in securing our fury friends that fur-ever home.”