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CHRISTMAS DONATION INFO

In the past week we have received calls and messages from the community asking how they can support the shelter and our folks over the Christmas period. Firstly we want to say thank you to all that have thought of our folks. Christmas can be a challenging time for many and receiving donations of food, gifts and supplies is uplifting for our folks and lets them know how much the community cares. We have always had tremendous support for the shelter community and our folks and this has been shown each Christmas that we have been operating.

At this time we are busy planning for Christmas 2018, our second Christmas at the new Sechelt Shelter located at 5653 Wharf Ave, Sechelt. We have identified some areas where the community can donate this festive season if folks are looking for ways to support the community. These donations can be in the form of food, gifts or Christmas decorations.

Christmas Dinner

Each year we try to provide a full Christmas dinner for our folks at the shelter. In previous years we have usually hosted our Christmas dinner at around 3pm on Christmas Day. Historically Christmas dinners have been catered by the community with various families or groups providing certain parts of the meal. We know that cooking Christmas dinner for 20 people is a big undertaking and expense so sharing the responsibility has worked in the past. Please reach out to us at the contact details below if you would like to take part in providing for the Christmas dinner at the shelter.

Gifts

Many folks contact us asking us what gifts folks like at the shelter. We often direct people to gift cards, socks, smelly soaps and various other items. We collect all the donated gifts, separate them fairly and give each client (20) staying at the shelter a Christmas bag on Christmas Day. These Christmas bags make Christmas for our folks and allows them to have some gifts to open on Christmas Day. If you’re interested in donating gifts for Christmas again please reach out to Paula at the contact details below.

Decorations

Each year we try and make the shelter feel Christmassy and make it a happy space for folks. We put up a tree, hang lights and put up decorations in order to give folks some festive spirit. If your interested in helping the shelter either through a donation of a tree or old decorations then please reach out to Paula at the contact details below.

Paula one of our weekend shelter support workers has graciously agreed to coordinate Christmas this year for our folks, we thank Paula for taking on this task. If you’re interested in providing food, gifts or donations this Christmas I ask that you connect with Paula and she can assist you in deciding what to bring and the logistical pieces. Paula can be reached on the phone at the shelter on Saturdays and Sundays at 604-740-8160 or you can email her at phill@raincityhousing.org. Paula is looking forward to hearing from you.

We would like to again thank the community for the wonderful support that you provide to shelter not only at Christmas but all year round. We couldn’t do the work and support our folks like we do without the amazing support of this community. If you’re planning to donate this festive season we send a heartfelt thank you from the team at RainCity and our folks for thinking of us.

- NG