The United Way gift-wrapping booth at the Medicine Hat Mall is open mall hours until Dec. 24. (CHAT News Photo/Bob Schneider)

By Chris Brown

Until Christmas Eve

United Way gift wrapping booth helping make the perfect gift even better

Dec 16, 2020 | 2:53 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Just outside The Bay in the Medicine Hat Mall, the United Way and its volunteers will make your gifts look as good on the outside as you feel on the inside when you give it.

One of the groups doing that this year is the Redcliff Youth Centre, which has been volunteering for at least as long as its executive director can remember.

“It’s something that we really enjoy,” said Janae Ulrich, who’s been with the centre for five years. “We give back to the United Way because they do so much for our local community. Our programs and services truly wouldn’t run without the support of the United Way unfortunately so giving back to them is just something that makes sense.”

Staff from the centre have done about a dozen shifts at the booth.

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Ulrich says they’ve seen a ton of really incredible gifts and it seems like people are really trying to hit home buying that perfect gift.

“People aren’t going to be able to be with their families like they could be every other year, unfortunately. So they’re really trying to find something that speaks volumes and speaks to their relationship with the person that they’re buying for,” she says.

“That’s something that we’ve really noticed and we’ve taken extra care this year, extra time putting in some extra thought when it comes to wrapping, trying to make things perfect for the gift that the customer is buying.”

Normally they would have kids from the centre there as well, but it’s just staff this year due to the public health measures. She says the kids are cheering them on and supporting them in the background.

The gift-wrapping booth is the United Way of Southeastern Alberta’s second-largest fundraiser of the year and all the money raised stays local.

Wrapping prices range from $3.50 for a small package to $15 for a big parcel, with the typical gift costing about $6.

The booth is open until Christmas Eve the same hours the mall is open. Those are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.

Gifts can also be wrapped for mailing.