If you talk to the supporters of the Christmas Bureau, you’ll hear a common theme developing. Some call it privilege, some call it luck, but the idea is some of us are fortunate enough that we’re in a position to help others. And some are not as fortunate and find they need a little boost for the holidays.
That’s what the Burnaby Christmas Bureau is all about: connecting those two groups of people for the holidays. It’s a program that makes sure local low-income families have food and gifts for Christmas and that isolated seniors aren’t forgotten on Dec. 25.
It’s not a higher-than-thou approach to giving, either. There’s a kind of solidarity and empathy at play here. People give because they imagine what it’s like for families who aren’t as lucky.
Sometimes the donors are students fundraising to buy gifts for other kids the same age as them, and they’re so excited to make Christmas magic. Sometimes it’s companies and small businesses that have been operating in the community for decades and consider Burnaby their second home. (Like Zeemac on page 1.)
Sometimes it’s people who have had a few hard knocks themselves and know what it’s like to need help, and now they’re lucky enough to be able to give back. Sometimes it’s the local firefighters’ union serving the community, putting on a pancake breakfast, collecting toys and cash for the cause.
There are many ways to get involved with the bureau, too. You can gather a group of friends or coworkers and sponsor a family or a senior. At work, you can set up an Angel Project, where everyone takes a card and buys a gift for a child.
You can make a cash donation and let the folks behind the bureau use it to fill in any gaps that arise. You can donate a new, unwrapped toy for the toy room. The bureau also needs donations of new books for kids and stocking-stuffer items for the parents’ table, so adults have something to take away when they visit the toy room.
But the real magic behind the Burnaby Christmas Bureau is the joy of giving. Nothing can replace that.
For the donors sponsoring a family or a senior, who are lucky enough to deliver the gifts in person, the look on the kids’ faces and the gratitude from the parents is better than anything you could hope to receive under the tree.
So we’d like to say thank you to the Burnaby Christmas Bureau – thank you for the chance to give, and thank you for letting us feel what Christmas is really all about.
