®

es Peceive

. . NEWS pioto Mike field
NORTH VANCOUVER Christmas Bureau volunteers (clockwise from back left) Mary Clare

Cavanaugh, Penny Cooke, Muriel Worthington and Kay O'Neill sort some of the items donated to

the annual fund.

food

NV Christmas Bureau delivers
comfort and joy on N. Shore

CHRISTMAS IS tradi-
tionally a time of giving.

For over 60 years, the North
Vancouver Christmas Bureau has
kept that tradition alive, delivering
comfort and joy to needy North
Vancouver families and individu-
als,

Last year, the Christmas Bureau
supplied food and household items
— including toys — to 785 North
Shore families. All items were do-
nated through drop-off boxes
(locations of which are listed on
page 46), or bought with money
donated to the fund.

To receive a Christmas hamper
individuals and families fill out
application forms that are
distributed to local social service
agencies. The forms are then sent
to the Christmas Bureau, where
volunteers select food and other
items specific to the information
on the form (eg. number in fami-
ly, age of children).

The specially designed hampers
— each containing more than $100
in goods — are then delivered to
the families before Dec. 17.

“Since this project is run en-
tirely by volunteers, many ¢ of
whom are involved from the
beginning of November to well
into January, we like to have all
the hampers out by then to allow
the volunteers time with their own
families,’’ said Family Services of
the North Shore executive director
Arlene Gladstone. The volun-
teer-driven Christmas Bureau is
operated by Family Services.

Also, the Bureau sets up a “toy

By A.P. McCredie

News Reporter

shop’’ in a confidential location
for parents to visit to select toys
for their children. ‘

“We do it (distribute toys) this
way as opposed to selecting toys
for the hamper ourselves because
we respect the parents’ ability to
choose the right gifts for their
own children,’’ explained

_ Gladstone.

Last year the toy shop provided
toys and treats for 1,300 children,
valued at $80,000. Food and
money vouchers donated totalled
$120,000.

The vouchers are used to allow
the recipients to buy perishable
foods. The hampers contain
non-perishable goods.

Donations for the Bureau come
in all sizes, and in all forms.

Major contributions come from
local shopping centres and cor-
porations, while individuals con-
tribute te drop-off boxes and give
money through branches of the
Toronto Dominion Bank and
North Shore Credit Unions.

To find out how you can get in-
volved in the season of giving, call
the North Vancouver Christmas
Bureau at 984-XMAS_ (9627),
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
and Friday, and from 10 a.m, to 3
p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
(Next week, look in) Christmas
Windows for a feature on the
West Vancouver Santa Claus
Fuad.)

North Van hair salon
fills holiday hampers

A NORTH SHORE hair salon is
challenging other local salons to
help a needy family this holiday
season.
Reverly

Ball Hair. Design,
located on West Esplanade in
North Vancouver, collected money.
last year from its clients to buy
food and presents for two North
Shore families.

Employees of the salon met
with both families prior to buying
the goods, then went shopping
and filled the hampers. They then
delivered the hampers to each
family.

“ast year we collected over
$600,’’ said salon co-owner Sarah
Roberts. ‘‘By issuing this
challenge we thought we (the salon
industry) could really get some
good collective support."

This year the salon has again
contacted two families in need of
support.

To get involved in the season of
giving, call the North Vancouver
Christmas Bureau at 984-XMAS
(9627), from 9 a.m. to 5 pam.,
Monday and Friday, and from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through
Thursday.