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Reviving the tradition of the lunch box social at Chilliwack Hampton House

It was a Chartwell ‘Moment that Matters’ for 90-year-old Vern Drader of Chilliwack
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Vern Drader, 90, runs the auction during the Lunch Box Social at Hampton House recently, with staffer Tracey McDonald holding one of the lunch boxes to be auctioned off. They raised $1,431 for Chilliwack Community Services. (Hampton House)

Another ‘Moment that Matters’ event held at Hampton House in Chilliwack turned into a Christmas fundraiser for Chilliwack Community Services.

Resident Vern Drader, 90, decided to bring back the old-fashioned tradition of the “lunch box social,” in time for his birthday last month, according to Hampton House staffer Tracey McDonald.

So they worked to make it happen with a ‘Moment That Matters,’ a Chartwell program that makes dreams come true for the residents of their retirement homes.

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“Back in the day, when they held these lunch box socials, the girls would decorate and fill boxes with lunch for two to raffle off, and the boys would bid on the boxes hoping to have a chance to have lunch with someone they were sweet on,” McDonald explained.

And so it came to be at the Chilliwack residence.

“I made a sign-up sheet for 10 ladies to complete this challenge, and the sheet was full in a couple of days,” said McDonald. “Everyone was excited, especially Vern.”

They held the social and Drader auctioned off the lunch boxes, raising more than $1,400 for Chilliwack Community Services to purchase presents for kids.

“We set a goal of raising $250, and we raised $1,431,” McDonald noted.

Hampton House and CCS officials came together for the cheque presentation on Dec. 4.

It’s estimated the funds should be enough to purchase Christmas gifts for at least 130 young people.

“We were beyond thrilled to be a small part of what Chilliwack Community Services and the Salvation Army do for our community,” McDonald said.

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@CHWKjourno
jfeinberg@theprogress.com

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Jennifer Feinberg

About the Author: Jennifer Feinberg

I have been a Chilliwack Progress reporter for 20+ years, covering the arts, city hall, as well as Indigenous, and climate change stories.
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