Every year, dozens of volunteers with the Lil'wat Christmas Spirit Team assemble food and gift hampers for families in need.
This year, the team is facing increasing demand for the hampers. In 2023, the Nation produced about 400 hampers. This year, the team will assemble at least 510.
But the program isn't cheap, and donations have been scarce.
Jolene Andrew, director of community development for the Nation, said part of the issue might be due to delays caused by the postal service strike.
“There are a lot of donations we’re not seeing right now,” she said. “We’re way under where we were last year, and we figure that some of those donations are in the mail.”
Larger charities, like the Salvation Army, have reported significant drops in seasonal giving via mail compared to this time last year. The outfit says donations have decreased by 50 per cent since the strike began, amounting to a $9.3-million loss compared to this time last year.
The department is working hard to make up for a shortfall in donations, despite having a surplus from the previous year’s Christmas hampers.
“We do want to keep seeing those donations come in because otherwise we’re piece-mealing it from different parts of the budget," said Andrew. “And then, the Nation will have to find the money somewhere else.”
This year’s hampers have already gone out to 396 homes. Those hampers each include a turkey, $50-dollar gift card meant to help families purchase food, and—for those with children ages 18 and under—an unwrapped gift, wrapping paper and tape.
That's a total of $8,000 in gifts, $1,200 in wrapping paper, and more than $19,000 in gift cards.
The Nation's program isn't alone in facing increasing demand. This year has seen food bank visits spiking across Canada.
A report by Food Banks Canada this fall found there were more than two million visits to Canadian food banks in March 2024—a six-per-cent increase from the previous year, and a 90-per-cent increase from 2019.
Andrew says despite the decline in donations, work on the hampers is moving forward.
She's grateful for all the work the organizing committee and volunteers have put in this year.
“We're just really grateful to the response that we've already gotten," she said. "All the volunteers on the Christmas spirit team are taking time away from their families to put all the hampers together.
“They're really championing what it means to come from a place of abundance and really trying to come together for the community.”
If you want to donate to the hamper project, Andrew suggests e-transferring [email protected] and including a note that says the money is for the Christmas hamper or Christmas Spirit Team. She also says the Nation is happy to pick up cheques.
Donations over $25 can be written off as charitable contributions. Donations are encouraged, year-round.
