After several weeks and countless volunteer hours, Community Christmas Care put together 390 hampers for families.
On Dec. 17, the final day, volunteers gathered inside an old BC Rail building to pack vehicles with hampers as they drove in and out of the site.
Donations closed at the beginning of last week. The process of sorting the items began the following day, and deliveries took place on the Wednesday and Thursday. Inside headquarters, volunteers – including hockey and football players from Howe Sound Secondary – helped get the hampers ready for loading.
Approximately 25 vehicles, many in teams of two, made deliveries of the hampers and were finished by midday on Dec. 17.
“Because we had so many people today, we were an hour and a half quicker in our delivery time,” said organizer Darcy Reimer, the pastor at The River Church.
The hampers contain non-perishable food items, necessities like toilet paper and toys for children.
“It just gives the family the peace of mind that their needs are taken care of,” Reimer said.
The project represents the efforts of many throughout the community. As an example, Reimer cites the Squamish Breakfast Club, made up of people from business and community service, which has made sure teenagers in families were not left out by donating gift cards.
Another group of entrepreneurs came up with $7,500 for quality scooters, skateboards and mountain bikes for kids, while Tantalus Bike Shop provided them at cost, even throwing in the locks.
Community Christmas Care started 35 years ago, Reimer said, because of a need to ensure local families were receiving consistent hampers. These days, families sign up for hampers on the Community Christmas Care website.
Community Christmas Care is lead by about 15 people who start meeting in early October to begin planning.
“Most of the churches are represented on the leadership team,” Reimer said.
Even after another strong year of community support, Community Christmas Care will face a challenge next year because the BC Rail building will no longer be available as a hub for operations. Reimer credits the offer of the site as crucial to Community Christmas Care.
“They’re kind of the unsung heroes,” he said.
The building is now slated to be sold.
Even with Community Christmas Care hampers for families, hunger is an issue for many throughout the season.
Squamish Food Bank coordinator Christine Rupp said demand has increased steadily in recent years, especially from single-parent families. A third of all recipients are children, she said, adding that this is a typical statistic for many communities. As well, demand has increased among seniors.
While donations typically increase in December, the need is not seasonal.
“It’s an all-year issue. That’s what we have to remind people of,” Rupp said.
The food bank runs campaigns through the year, such as Christmas in July. As well, it received a boost from donations such as an effort by groups to collect donations over Halloween, which resulted in more than 1,000 kilograms of food.
The best way to help the food bank, Rupp said, is to make cash donations as these can help the organization purchase healthy food that people need at any time and often at a reduced rate from suppliers.
Equally important to the food bank is the work of volunteers that help sort food, provide customer service and make deliveries and pickups.
“Without the efforts of volunteers, we couldn’t operate,” Rupp said.
Donations can be made at squamishfoodbank.com or mailed to Squamish Food Bank, PO Box 207, Garibaldi Highlands, B.C. V0N 1T0.
