As we come to the close of our 2020 Christmas season, our 90th anniversary, we wish to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau during what was one of our most difficult years. You, our community, banded together in many different ways. Thank-you.
We worked diligently to ship toys to Christmas Bureaus and agencies throughout the Lower Mainland to provide support to their programs and like us at the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau, these organizations found ways to effectively welcome families despite the COVID pandemic.
Alongside our regional role, we also serve as the Christmas Bureau for Vancouver families. Each year, we work to serve as many low-income families and families on assistance as possible. Families receive a grocery store gift card to purchase items for a warm Christmas meal, and parents get to personally shop through our “Toy Store” to select a primary gift for each of their children, along with a book, a stuffed toy, and stocking stuffers. This process allows families to experience Christmas with dignity and gives them a chance to personalize it with care for their children.
This year, our “Pop-up Toy Store” looked a bit different with all the precautions we implemented to keep our team and the families visiting us safe, but we are so happy that we could find ways to make sure that families were able to visit and choose gifts for their children.
As we look forward to Christmas 2021, we know we will still be dealing with the effects of the pandemic, but we know that our community of supporters will once again step up and create Christmas magic for children in our community!
Merry Christmas, and all the best for 2021!