'It's been shocking for our team': CFAX Santas Anonymous seeing more than double the usual demand for Christmas hamper program
On Monday, CFAX Santas Anonymous opened up applications to the community for its Christmas hamper program. Just four days into the registration process, there was reason for concern. The response has been unprecedented.
“To see such an incredible response right out of the gate, it’s been shocking for our team and worrisome at the same time,” said Christine Hewitt, executive director of CFAX Santas Anonymous Society.
Santas has already had 512 families register for help. That equates to 958 adults and 1,190 children, more than double the number that had registered by the same time last year.
“We’re proud and confident that Santas Anonymous will be able to fulfill our commitments to the families that register for help, but it just shows the need in our community,” said Hewitt.
Throughout the pandemic, need in the community has grown. Some families that were struggling to make ends meet have begun to fall through the cracks.
“Need is going up,” said Treska Watson, food security manager for the Mustard Seed food bank.
“We’re busier than ever and it’s just continually growing.”
Both the Mustard Seed in Victoria and the Goldstream Food Bank in Langford have seen a 10-per-cent spike in monthly demand. That demand is leaving shelves nearly empty.
“Any donations that can be given at this time are sorely needed,” said Stephen Bell, executive director of the Mustard Seed Food Bank.
Our Place held a turkey dinner last Wednesday at 919 Pandora Ave. Attendance was lower than usual, but not because the need wasn’t there. It’s because the organization was also delivering dinners to the five hotel locations that Our Place now runs, which are now housing its usual client base.
The CFAX Santas Anonymous Christmas hamper program provides three bags of groceries to families, a $75 grocery store gift certificate and a gift for a child to put under the Christmas tree.
Hewitt says if you would like to help to make the Christmas season a little better for a family in need, now is the time to do it. The requests for help are rolling in like they never have before.
“Making a financial donation, for instance, will help us buy the food for the groceries,” said Hewitt. “Making a purchase for a child – either through the virtual tree of wishes or finding us in some of the local shops this winter – will help as well.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.