Volunteers have been busy all month sorting Christmas gifts at the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau (LMCB), working to support around 1,000 Vancouver-area families that need a little helping hand this year.
Thanks to donations, the LMCB is able to gift families a wide range of items, including books, stuffed animals, new clothing, and stocking stuffers.
Volunteers can spend months sorting all the donated items.
The bureau sees an influx of donations around Christmas time, when appointments are made to pick up the gifts, but they accept donations year-round.
“We bring in 80 to 100,000 items per year,” said executive director Chris Bayliss. “Sixty to 70 per cent of that is in December.”
The bureau says 80 per cent of its clients are working-class families struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.
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Kristina, a mom of two, says some gifts under her tree growing up were from the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. She’s now shopping here for her own children.
She says she appreciates the extra help around Christmastime when parents feel extra financial pressure.
“It’s always overwhelming, and then if you don’t have a good Christmas for your children, you kind of feel like a failure,” she said.
“So it’s nice that places like this exist so people can keep the magic in their house.”
Bayliss says the group’s mission is to empower families with empathy and respect.
“As I say to all of our donors…think about what your own children would want,” he said.
Jonathan Blackshaw with the Vancouver Rowing Club was one of many donors this year.
“We feel we are so lucky with what we’ve got, so it’s nice to be able to hand some of it back,” he said.
Bayliss says they currently have almost 70,000 gift items ready to distribute, all donated.
“There is not a toy in here that’s been purchased, except by our people that support us,” he said.
The Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau is helping keep the Christmas spirit alive, one gift at a time, so no child is left out this holiday season.
“I know I can speak for many many people that use it, that we really appreciate this,” Kristina said.
“We hope that it can continue for all families.”
For those looking to donate, the bureau says it is in need of more items for teenagers.