A Decade of Lifting Spirits

Every year there are those groups that stand out because of their local advocacy and the incredible work they do. Countless hours donated by volunteers keeps many charities moving, and sometimes it can be a challenge for a business to figure out how to help. Donations are always welcome, but what about companies like Industrial Truck Service that have a pretty specialized business?

In our case we help directly, getting things moving in a way few others can. For many years now ITS has donated the use of material handling equipment to the Christmas Cheer Board. Putting our equipment to work means that volunteers and staff can focus on the important part of their work instead of having to move everything by hand; anyone who has ever had to empty a trailer by hand-bombing it will tell you that help goes a long way.

2025 marks the 10th year that we at ITS have donated the use of equipment, this year lending the Christmas Cheer Board four lift trucks. So instead of countless, hard hours of unloading trucks by hand the Cheer Board gets a powerful assist from the best in the material handling industry, and gets to focus on spreading that Christmas cheer.

As anyone who has helped them out either in the warehouse or with Christmas hamper deliveries can tell you, the Cheer Board simply doesn’t stop through the holidays. Deliveries coming and going from other supporters and through the Christmas Cheer Board’s own leveraged donations stream in throughout the day while dedicated volunteers work to package them up and ship them back out to families who need a little help through the holidays. This year that help is especially important, as food banks across our province, country, and planet have seen a huge surge in folks who just need little help to get by. Harvest Manitoba and other foodbanks continue to see increased need for their services, with rising food insecurity looming in the background of more people than ever.

Back in 2019 just a few years into our partnership year Kai Madsen, then Executive Director of the Christmas Cheer Board had this to say:

“We at the Christmas Cheer Board are very fortunate to have the wonderful support of the folks at Industrial Truck Service. We would not be able to look after our warehouse without their support. The team at Industrial Truck are amazing and their donation is truly something we could not operate without.”

More recently Shawna Bell, current Executive Director of the Christmas Cheer Board had this to say:

“Industrial Truck has been an essential partner, helping the Christmas Cheer Board deliver cheer to families in need for many years. Susan and Isha are simply incredible to work with and we are grateful for their support. I have it on good authority that all of the wonderful folks at ITS have a permanent place on Santa's nice list! Thank you for everything you do to help us and the community!.”

While we at Industrial Truck Service may put our heads and wallets together on a regular basis to help out a good cause, with the Christmas Cheer Board we’ve found a way to exercise our expertise as a business to really take what we excel at and make it work in our community.

Click here to learn more about the Christmas Cheer Board, its operations, and how you can help this holiday season.