Today marks the start of our annual fundraising drive to help people in need in our community.
The goal of this year’s sa国际传媒 Christmas Fund is to surpass the $1.12 million our readers donated last year.
A target of a million dollars or more will always seem like a stretch, but this fund matters. The more money that we raise, the more people we can help.
I’ve been writing columns about the sa国际传媒 Christmas Fund for many years. I’ve seen the fund change to meet changing needs, and it continues to evolve. But I have never seen the level of need that I am seeing this year.
Through the fund, we support dozens of community agencies in Greater Victoria and elsewhere on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Representatives from many of those groups came together last week to talk about the work they do, and the problems they are seeing.
Consider seniors relying on food banks. Consider people who are working two jobs and still can’t make ends meet, thanks to the high cost of housing and food. Consider the teens who are fending for themselves with none of the supports that the rest of us take for granted.
Food security and housing are top priorities, but there are other concerns as well. People need clothing and hygiene products. They need help navigating through bureaucracy. Things that many of us take for granted seem impossible for people in need.
If we can provide a helping hand, if we can make a difference in the lives of our neighbours, the entire community becomes a better place.
When our fund was started in 1956, the idea was to make the Christmas season a bit warmer for those less fortunate, and we stayed with the Christmas theme for decades.
The spirit of Christmas is, after all, about giving. It’s easier to raise funds at this time of year.
But times have changed. It’s not just about Christmas. We can’t abandon those in need in the cold, dark days of January. There are people who need help year-round, and thanks to you, we are able to provide some of that help.
The Christmas Fund is one of the most important ways that the sa国际传媒 serves the community. Our goal is to ensure that the money you donate is put to work in the most efficient way possible. We want to offer as much help as we possibly can.
To achieve that goal, the sa国际传媒 Christmas Fund Society — the charitable organization behind our fundraising — works with the local chapter of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller.
We share the belief that administration costs should be kept as low as possible. To that end, the sa国际传媒 covers most of the costs of the fundraising, and volunteers in the sovereign order charge nothing for the extensive research they do to identify the community groups which can make the best use of the assistance we provide.
At some point, as a society, we will need to find workable solutions. The level of need simply can’t keep rising every year. We must stop failing the people who need help.
Finding those solutions will take time — and in the short term, people in our community need any help you can provide.
It’s time to make a difference. It’s time to offer a helping hand.
Thank you.
Dave Obee is editor and publisher of the sa国际传媒.
HOW TO DONATE TO THE TIMES COLONIST CHRISTMAS FUND
• You can donate by going to the sa国际传媒 Christmas Fund web page, . That page links to sa国际传媒Helps, which is open 24 hours a day and provides an immediate tax receipt.
• Or mail a cheque to sa国际传媒 Christmas Fund, 201-655 Tyee Rd., Victoria, sa国际传媒 V9A 6X5.
• You can also use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday.
