Have you picked up a Christmas tree yet? Would you consider buying from a certain lot in Burnaby if it would help save vulnerable youth from a life on the streets?
Proceeds from Christmas tree sales at 7405 Royal Oak Ave. go to Aunt Leah’s, a group that helps foster kids, homeless youth and young moms. The organization helps with life-skills training, employment counselling and supportive housing, particularly with 19-year-olds who are “aging out” of the foster-care system.
Take 19-year-old Stacii Snowden, for example. At 15, she was in foster care and went through two Aunt Leah’s programs that helped her learn the life skills she needed to live on her own. She now comes back and volunteers at the tree lot.
“The least I could do is give back once a year,” she told the NOW. “A lot of those kids that are in transition don’t have the resources or the guidance to get through the hurdles we struggle through in our teenage years.”
The tree-lot fundraiser is an annual tradition for Aunt Leah’s, which runs lots in three other municipalities with hundreds of volunteers. Last year, Aunt Leah’s earned more than $100,000 selling trees. The Burnaby tree lot is open Monday to Thursday, from 1 to 8 p.m. and Friday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information on Aunt Leah’s, go to auntleahs.org.
