This Halloween, 15-year-old Jordan Takkiruq got to hand out candy to children when both his parents were out.

"I thought that was the best thing ever," said Takkiruq.

Afterwards, he recounted the night to his parents. "I was saying, 'Oh I can't wait to give out Christmas hampers because I think it will be just like Halloween!'"

Takkiruq is part of a group of local teens who helped fundraise $12,000 over the past four months to purchase 250 Christmas hampers filled with food staples, one for nearly every household in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut — a community of around 1,300 people.

Takkiruq said that experience helped him finally understand the true spirit of giving.

"It's one thing to give out candy to children on Halloween, but it's another thing to provide the community with food on Christmas."

From movie nights to random donations

Takkiruq is now the spokesperson for Gjoa Haven's new Christmas Hamper Committee.

Jordan Takkiruq is the spokesperson for Gjoa Haven's Christmas Hamper Committee. (submitted by Jordan Takkiruq)

The committee started up in September when Robby Qammaniq put a post up on Facebook, calling for help to raise funds to provide hampers for the community to hand out during the holidays.

"If it wasn't for Robby back in September… I would not have known about the spirit of giving," said Takkiruq. There are up to 30 members who help with various fundraisers and most of them under the age of 17, said Takkiruq.

"I would not have known about the spirit of giving." - Jordan Takkiruq

The committee began fundraising with a movie night, screening two movies every Friday for a small fee. They held more than 15 movie nights since September.

Then they began to hand out pamphlets around the community, laying out their plan.

Each hamper included some ground beef, frozen chicken drumsticks, rice, a package of hotdogs, loaf of bread, a box of biscuits, box of juice mix, and a box of soup mix. (submitted by Robby Qammaniq) "Some random people on the streets would give us $10, $20. We were always so thankful," said Takkiruq, who added the committee always gave out thank-you cards for contributions.

Alleviating stress and hunger

Takirruq said the holidays are hard work for people who have many things to do on their list.

"It's very hard to do things with an empty stomach, like in school sometimes, I'd be a little bit hungry after breakfast and I can't really focus."

So the committee hoped that the hamper would alleviate the stress that comes with Christmas. "[People would] be able to spend more money on their family and less money on the food."

Now that the holidays are wrapping up, Takkiruq said that the committee will take a one month break from organizing fundraisers — before starting to prepare for Christmas in 2017.