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The Richmond Christmas Fund surpassed its auction goal, as well as receiving at least $10,000 in donations from each of eight “angel donors.”
Photo courtesy RCRG
Christmas Fund still bringing joy after challenging year
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 5:10 PST, Thu December 10, 2020
Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
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Despite a new format to adhere to COVID-19 protocols, the Richmond Christmas Fund exceeded its auction goal thanks to generous contributions from community members.
The public auction raised $17,670 and the private reserve auction a further $18,105, for a combined total of $35,775. The goal for the online event was $30,000.
“We were hopeful that we would hit our target,” says Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives president and CEO Ed Gavsie. “I don’t know that we were surprised, but we were certainly grateful that we surpassed our goal.”
In its 88th year, the Richmond Christmas Fund had to make many changes to its format to adapt to the pandemic. Registration was all done virtually, and all people who were helped last year were contacted again and grandfathered in—which is not the normal process, but helped speed up the normal registration.
Last year, the Christmas Fund helped 2,915 people have a better holiday season. This year, it has already helped over 2,850 people—with distribution set to end on Saturday—and Gavsie says the team will be close to, if not surpassing last year’s number.
Items including food, gift cards and toys are being distributed through pre-arranged pick-up, outside with minimal contact.
The annual RCMP toy drive was held as a drive-through event this year, in a new location. The community showed up in a huge way, donating enough toys to fill four storage lockers—1,000 cubic feet of toys. The toy drive is the single largest donation to the Christmas Fund each year, and this year raised more than $11,000.
The Christmas Fund team is also thankful for the generous support of eight “angel donors”—far surpassing the three from last year—who each contributed $10,000 or more. New donors this year include Canadian Tire, Herbaland and Sage Foundation. Over the years, Richmond realtors have also contributed over $100,000.
The second-largest donor is the Richmond Auto Mall, whose annual “Windows of Hope” will proceed with decorations by professional window painters—but without the community painting gathering.
“This year, we will be able to help everyone who seeks help,” says Gavsie. “This will be the third year in a row that we haven’t had to turn anyone away.”
Gavsie says while this year has meant a lot of changes for the Christmas Fund team, it’s been great to see the support from companies and members of the public.
“Our unofficial slogan is, ‘In a year to forget, help make this holiday season one to remember.’”
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