CFAX Santas Anonymous donation helps feed families and send kids to camp
VICTORIA – A donation of more than $21,000 to the Burnside Gorge Community Association will help support families make ends meet and send 30 kids to camp this summer.
The community association will put $14,622 of the donation towards a food hamper program for neighbourhood families. The program supports 50 families with fresh fruit and vegetables during the late spring and early summer months.
“It is a weekly lifesaver,” said Burnside Gorge Community Association executive director Suzanne Cole. “For that short period of time in their year, they don’t have to worry where their fruit and vegetables are coming from.”
Staff with the community group will also be providing children’s snack bags for 50 families who receive support from the food program. Cole says it supports families when their children are home during the summer.
Staff say in the past year the cost of food has risen eight percent, and many low income families are feeling the strain.
“We’re helping relieve a little bit of stress in a time where finances can be really tight,” said Cole. “Families are still recovering from the winter, so high utility bills that they are still paying off, and it’s just one thing on top of another that creates a lot of barriers.”
Cole says $7,000 of the Santas Anonymous donation will allow 30 young people to participate in the community association’s Camp Survivor program. The summer camp program gives kids aged 10 to 14 a chance to experience outdoor activities, like zip lining and kayaking, by subsidizing the fees associated with the activity.
“I think in today’s day and age when kids are tied to their phones or isolated at home, it gives them an opportunity to get out in nature and be active,” said Cole. “Santas Anonymous provides us with 30 subsidies for camp and a little extra money for food, so we always have healthy snacks for kids who might not come with enough food.”
Cole says CFAX Santas Anonymous has provided financial support to the Camp Survivor program for more than 15 years. She says this is the third year the children’s charity has provided funding for the food program.
Staff with CFAX Santas Anonymous say fundraising activities, like the Miracle on Broad Street and Al’s 21 for 21, are a key part to helping fund donations to groups like the Burnside Gorge Community Association.
“It’s our community that steps up to make this donation happen,” said CFAX Santas Anonymous executive director Christine Hewitt. “Our board of directors looks at where the greatest need, is and this is one of the greatest needs.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.