By Mike Mastromatteo
The Interim
Angels for Life are once again set to put a much-needed financial present under the Campaign Life Coalition Christmas tree.
For the fourth consecutive year, the small Toronto-area craft-making enterprise will offer its nativity angel figures for sale during the Christmas season. All proceeds from the sales are turned over to Campaign Life Coalition to assist its efforts in defence of all human life.
Monica Klaming, head of Angels for Life, said about 95 per cent of the figurines for sale are in the form of angels. She and partner Maria Campbell of the Mississauga Right to Life Association, oversee a small team of angel-making volunteers.
In order to keep costs to a minimum, the production team uses readily available materials such as shredded pop cans, pinecones, orange juice container lids and pasta shells.
“A lot of good, hard-working people come together to make this project work,” Klaming toldThe Interim. She added that more and more churches in the Toronto-Mississauga area have invited the Angels for Life team to open a sales booth. From a single booking in 1997, the Angels for Life team has been booked at eight separate venues in 2000. The angel figures are also sold at the annual Campaign Life Coalition Christmas party.
Klaming, who along with husband Mike, organize the twice-yearly Rosary Walk for Life in Toronto, said the angels range in price from $1 to $30 for more elaborate creations. The average price is $5, she said.
“In the first year, we turned over $250 to Campaign Life,” Klaming said. “That increased to $1,500 in 1998 and $3,300 last year. We hope to exceed the $3,300 sales figure this year, and we’re already off to a good start.”
Klaming said churches have proven to be the ideal venue for angel sales. A suggestion to bring the Angels for Life to regular craft shows was rejected to avoid the table rental charges at these more high-profile shows.
“Pastors have really opened their doors to us,” Klaming said. “Many of our customers offer us more than the set price for an angel when their discover that the proceeds go to help Campaign Life.”
A teacher at St. Alfred’s School in Streetsville, Klaming said fellow teaching staff have also joined in the Angels for Life effort. One teacher enlisted her mother to make crocheted angels, opening a whole new product line.
“It gave this woman a good cause to put her crocheting talent to use,” Klaming said. “It’s just another indication that the project is becoming more popular every Christmas.”
