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Nearly 80 volunteers supported the Richmond Christmas Fund this year.
Photo courtesy Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives
Nearly 80 volunteers supported the Richmond Christmas Fund this year.
Photo courtesy Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives
Christmas fund wraps up 90th holiday season
Published 2:20 PST, Fri December 30, 2022
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This year marked the Richmond Christmas Fund's 90th anniversary.
The fund is run annually in the hope that one day, it won't be needed anymore. If every family, senior, and community member could afford a holiday celebration, the Christmas Fund would cease to exist. But for the past nine decades, the fund has met a real community need.
This year, grocery vouchers, toys, and gift cards were provided to 2,820 Richmond residents—more than a 20 per cent increase over 2021.
The program began during the Great Depression, based on the belief that financial hardship should never be a barrier to celebrating the holidays. That same belief propels the Christmas fund today.
Annually, Richmondites come together to support those in need. A dedicated team of nearly 80 volunteers generously shared their time this year, contributing at least 1,160 hours.
That group includes registration assistants, greeters, toy room assistants, and data entry helpers who spent their Saturdays registering families and providing them with grocery vouchers, toys, and gift cards.
Behind the scenes, volunteers—including dozens of high school students—helped in the toy room. On weekday afternoons, they sorted donations and displayed toys in categories so parents could easily find gifts for their children on distribution days. Companies and organizations like Sage, Starbucks, ASPAC, Richmond Centre, and the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia also sent volunteers to help set up and take down the toy room.
The eighth annual Richmond RCMP Toy Drive was the biggest in Christmas fund history. This event, along with numerous smaller toy drives, provided gifts to 857 kids.
This year also saw the return of A Not So Silent Night. Organized by a volunteer committee, led by Wayne Duzita, the gala reception and auction raised over $110,000.
Hundreds of individuals and businesses made donations to this year’s fund, including a number of Angel Donors who gave $10,000 or more.
The production crew of Superman & Lois, which is filmed locally, organized a fundraising campaign in support of the Richmond Christmas Fund for the second year in a row. Donations were made online, and 89 crew members raised a total of $12,856.
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