Family Services of Greater Vancouver is accepting registrations for its Caring Neighbours at Christmas program.
The program does its best to match families or seniors with individuals, businesses or groups wanting to help provide Christmas hampers for those in need. Last year, 150 family units, either families with children or seniors, were matched with sponsors or received gift cards – representing a total of 216 adults and 287 children.
People can visit Family Service’s office at #301-321 Sixth St. after Nov. 4 to get assistance completing the forms, but they’re already available.
“Ahead of Nov. 4, we actually have the forms. If people want to come in and pick them up and take them home and complete them and then bring them in completed, they can do that,” said Patricia Steiner, coordinator of community education and development services. “We will officially be having people here to interview and help out starting on Nov. 4.”
Individuals must fill out an application, list their children (age and gender) and provide a list of what each child would like or need for Christmas. They must also be willing to be reachable by phone and/or email, must allow the submitted information to be given to the sponsor and must send a thank-you card to the sponsoring family or organization.
Information for donors and sponsors is now posted on Family Services of Greater Vancouver’s website at www.fsgv.ca.
Family Services will begin matching families and seniors with sponsors as soon as possible, but early registration doesn’t ensure participation in the program. Registration is open until the end of November.
“It’s not first-come first-served,” Steiner said. “What we do is make sure that people are eligible. Sometimes a donor will come and say, ‘I really want a family that has a boy and a girl who are under nine because that’s my family.’ We match as we go along. Just because someone gets here on the first day doesn’t give them more of a priority than someone who comes on the last day of November.”
Family Services also accepts financial donations, which it uses to buy gift cards for people who have registered but can’t be matched for some reason. Last year, 150 families and seniors were matched with sponsors or received gift cards.
Family Services can’t guarantee all applicants will be matched (but it will do its best to find sponsors for all applicants), nor can it promise that recipients will get everything on their list.
“The piece of advice I’d like to tell people for the wishlist or gift ideas is to think of a range. Sometimes kids really want an iPad, but sponsors can’t always buy iPads,” Steiner said. “Having a range of gift ideas is really helpful.”
The program is open to New Westminster residents who aren’t registered with any other Christmas programs, have one or more children living with you (aged 18 or younger) or are a senior. Applicants must have a phone number where they can be reached, identification for all adults in the household and Care Cards for the children, proof of address and proof of income (such as a 2014 tax assessment, latest deposit slip from Government Assistance or three months of bank statements.)
