There is a Grinch in Sudbury and she absolutely loves Christmas.
And for two years now, the Sudbury Grinch has been bringing joy to the community at a time when it is more needed than ever.
The need for joy is something the Sudbury Grinch, a.k.a. Kelly Hamilton, knows quite a bit about.
Hamilton began her tenure as the green holiday character first for friends and family, then moving on to the Sudbury community at large in 2020 during the pandemic, when everyone needed a cheer.
But the idea came to her as a help for her son, who at a young age was diagnosed with three congenital birth conditions.
“He's had to have a surgery every year since he was born, on his hands or feet (his affected areas),” said Hamilton.
He lived in casts or leg braces until he was five and a half, sometimes having all his limbs in casts, but Hamilton was diligent in his care.
However, her son, fondly known as Benny Boo, was forced to have another surgery that would leave him in a hip to toe cast for four months.
The surgeries and recovery were intended to be over by the time Benny would be going to school, but due to COVID-19 restrictions at hospitals, he wasn’t able to get the surgery until November 2020, leaving him out of the first year of school he was so excited for.
That, and Christmas was coming, bringing with it all the joys of seeing your child enjoy the magic of the season. But for Hamilton, it was another challenge; her son wasn’t able to enjoy all of Christmas, especially a visit to Santa.
And so, Hamilton got an idea that would see her even a year later dressed as the Grinch. Rather than Santa, Hamilton wanted the Grinch to be the hero for her son. Partly because, until that moment, she considered herself a bit of a Grinch at Christmas.
She borrowed a costume from friends, another friend dressed as Santa, and she went to greet her son and his friends, to their great enjoyment. Then, she took her son as a helper — the Grinch’s helper, not mom’s — and they headed to the Lively Christmas Parade in 2020, where they drove the Grinch’s minivan through town, tossing candy out the window.
“That three-hour parade saved our Christmas and I was grateful and my heart was full,” said Hamilton. But when Hamiton’s heart is full, “I always feel the need to step it up a notch.”
After the parade, Hamilton did a few meet and greets with local children, taking photos and handing out candy in a COVID-safe way. It was then she was bitten by the big green Grinch-bug, especially seeing all the joy she could bring.
She put an ad on Facebook to let everyone know she was dressing as the Grinch for anyone who needed it, and within 24 hours, she had more than 500 messages. In the next three days, that number would top 1,000, and the requests are still coming in.
Hamiton knew that door-to-door visits would not be feasible, and really, she saw so much more need than she could fit into her time, especially with her son needing her.
“So I took an initial 200 bookings,” said Hamilton, and she invested $450 of her own money for candy, chocolate, toys and gas. Her costume, with a thick rubber mask, made for the perfect PPE. But then, something rather festive began to happen. She began to receive donations. When she booked a private party, she would use that money to visit low income areas of the city to offer them visits.
“I’m from the Donovan originally, I know what it is like to be down and out.”
She said she has fond memories of the place she refers to as “the Christmas house on Frood Road.”
She said the people of the community who understand why she is dressing up have been greatly supportive. “The people have been so amazingly kind, I feel extremely blessed to be able to do this for our community and will continue to in the future because of them.”
Hamilton has more than a few favourite interactions.
“I met Cindy Lou Who of Lively this year, and a mini Cindy Lou Who of Minnow Lake,” said Hamitlon. “These dedicated moms and those hair styles were impressive and made this mom tear up a whole lot under my mask.”
There have been other sick little ones she has brought joy to, like Levi, who she met at Science North.
“I assure you I will never ever in my life forget Levi and his kind little heart,” said Hamiton. Levi’s family was celebrating a birthday before his surgery at Sick Kids. “This one was really important to me on a personal level,” she said.
She visited the Bizzzy Bea’s group while they hosted a dinner for the people who are homeless in the downtown core; she has also focused efforts on the low-income areas of the city. “Going to these places has been the most amazing experience for me to date,” said Hamiton.
“Kids all out awaiting my arrival and so excited to see me and ask me questions, grab some treat bags.” She said in these areas she gives out two bags of treats, rather than one.
She was invited to participate in the Capreol Christmas Parade, and said it, “rocked her socks off.”
“They cleaned me out of candy, it was the first time I ran out of candy at the end of an event. My heart was so full for this one.”
She has also made a visit to a fellow Grinch.
This is a nurse at HSN who claims to be a grinch about Christmas while at the same time working shifts on the holiday so nurses who are parents can be home with their families. “I brought her some gifts for her commitment to our community,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said she has found her Christmas spirit changing as well. “And then the true meaning of Christmas came though, and the Grinch found the strength of 10Grinches plus two,” reads the classic children’s book.
Hamiton has the strength of 10 Grinches, plus Benny Boo, and said the rewards are “food for my soul” and remind her that maybe Christmas isn't so bad after all. “Maybe it's time for this old Grump to give it a try again.”
Next year, she hopes to continue, with paid visits making it easier to visit low income neighbourhoods for free. “Next year my friends will run a rental business while I do the not-for-profit ‘Grinching’ around town,” said Hamiton. They also plan to have a character for all seasons.
If you would like to donate to the Sudbury Grinch this Christmas, you can visit the Facebook page by clicking here. Donations accepted are monetary, food donations and those of the candy variety. Hamilton is also looking for volunteers to help hand out the candy at events.
She is also grateful to businesses and organizations for helping her, including
Anmar, Northern Screams, Skakoon Home Hardware, Ed's Auto Repair Notre Dame, Active Therapy +, Donovan Auto, Lo Ellen Park High School ISP Classes, Science North and Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking.
