Shop of Wonders had a successful 2025

By Lethbridge Herald on January 5, 2026.

Herald photo by Alejandra Puldio-Guzman MyCityCare Shop of Wonders at the new permanent location was extremely successful and Tanya Lister, program and volunteer coordinator says it was one of their best years yet.

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Lethbridge Herald

MyCityCare’s Shop of Wonders was successful in many ways, and it was able to help hundreds of residents have a dignified Christmas during times of financial constraints. 

Tanya Lister, program and volunteer coordinator said Monday 2025’s Shop of Wonders went great and having it at their new location was extremely convenient. 

“I feel like it was one of our best years yet. A lot of sponsors came alongside us very organically or came back from last year and that was super helpful,” said Lister. 

She added that having the support of the businesses and the local community was crucial in having such a successful year. 

“For our final numbers, we had 1,558 children who got gifts for Christmas this year. We had 2,337 adults, and a total of 611 families served,” said Lister. 

She added that they had a huge volunteer team that helped them out. They had 2,160 volunteers which translated into over 1,900 volunteer hours put in between setup and running the Shop of Wonders. 

“On a daily basis we had over 30 volunteers in the space to make our Shop of Wonders run every day. We had a lot of people ready to support us right away this year, which was really exciting,” said Lister. 

In terms of the location, Lister said having their own location was impactful for a couple different reasons. She said for the team was beneficial because they were familiar with the building and there was no need for setting up at a different location, which involved packing and moving as that usually took couple of days. 

“It usually takes us two days and maybe 6 trailer loads to move everything. So, not having to do that was amazing. And having our own building, was good for the community,” said Lister. 

She said this helped clients and staff equally. In one hand, clients that came into the building looking for the Shop of Wonders were easily re-directed as they were in the same building, and on the other hand, clients were able to learn more about what MyCityCare does when visiting the Shop of Wonders within the same building. 

“For clients to be in our space and to see that we do with clothing and food throughout the year, I feel like it was really good connecting the Shop of Wonders with MyCityCare resources,” said Lister. 

She explained that they paused the official clothing shopping during December but were offering it on an emergency basis. 

“They were families that came through needing a new jacket for their son, and we were able to help. We had one family coming in with their little toddler who just started walking and they needed new shoes for him,” said Lister. 

And now that the Christmas holidays are over, Lister said they are once again accepting donations for their regular programing. 

“We are accepting gently used clean clothing and household linens like towels, blankets, and bed sheets,” said Lister. “With priority given to men’s clothing in all sizes.” 

She added that they take shoes and jewelry items, as well as socks and underwear. Only new underwear, and preferably new socks, but Lister said they would take gently used socks that are in good condition. 

“We take hygiene items as well. New hygiene items like shampoo, deodorant, soap, body wash, toothbrush, and toothpaste,” said Lister.