Holiday Giving, XYBOOM Style!
Giving back is one of the best ways to get into the festive, holiday spirit. Community agencies often provide much needed support and different kinds of programming for many of those in need; while we encourage supporting these agencies at anytime of year, the holiday season is an especially meaningful time to give back. There are plenty of holiday initiatives that make it easy to donate time, money and spirit to worthwhile causes and more importantly, people. Each member of the XYBOOM core planning team have picked a small project or activity to do over the next couple months – we hope you will do the same!
Buy a Christmas Tree: Linda has supported Aunt Leah’s Place by purchasing a Christmas tree from on of their tree lots and donating it to Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House (the picture to the right is of kids at Frog Hollow decorating the tree). Aunt Leah’s Place works to help kids in foster care and teen moms transition to adulthood with housing, job training and coaching on essential life skills. Frog Hollow is a community service centre that has programming serving people of all generations – we’re especially excited to see their Generating Citizenship project, which brings youth and seniors together to build more caring and inclusive communities.
Sponsor a Family: Yumi, along with a group of generous friends, is sponsoring a family of 3 through the Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre’s ‘Share Christmas’ program. Along with a food and grocery vouchers, the group will be donating personal hygiene products, books, pajamas, socks and more for the family, who survives on $1742/month. The YWCA in Vancouver hosts a similar program, along with many others you can volunteer your time or donate to. You could also donate to Frog Hollow’s holiday hamper program.
Volunteer: On January 4th from 9am-2pm, Tammy will be joining a group of friends to help feed the local homelessness community at The Door is Open, a day shelter with approximately 130, 000 visits per year. Community Developer, Clay Tang is organizing this event and would be happy to organize a similar event at any time of year with you. If you would like to join Tammy, Clay and the rest of the group on January 4th, please e-mail us here.