Surrey Christmas Bureau asking for community support as COVID impacts donations this year

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — It’s a rough year for the Surrey Christmas Bureau, as they struggle to come up with enough toys and donations for families in need this holiday season.

Lisa Werring is the Executive Director of the Bureau, and she says COVID has left many suffering financially and that’s meant more families need help.

“We’re definitely seeing a lot of families come to us for help that have never been to a Christmas bureau before and have been on CERB or laid off for much of the year.”

And with the pandemic, the bureau itself has had to make some major changes as most of their volunteers have had to step aside because of the dangers of the virus.

“Most of those volunteers, probably 95 per cent of them, are retirees or they’re older and they are in that vulnerable category. So they have not been able to help out this year. They’re quite worried about exposure to COVID, which has been extremely challenging for us and I know for every other Christmas charity and food banks as well out there.

So while Werring was quarantined this summer, she spent her time thinking of a plan.

“We chose not to go virtual. We are the largest Christmas charity in British Columbia we serve more families and anybody else. Usually about 2,000 families a year, and approximately 5,000 kids in those 2,000 families. So we thought long and hard about it but kids have been through enough this year.”

This year, parents can register online and donations can be dropped of at any Fire Station in Surrey.

She says without the typical fundraisers and toy drives, they’re in dire need of toys and gift cards – particularly for children aged 9 to 12.

“We definitely need a lot of toys,” she says. “We seem to be a little bit shy for both boys and girls aged 9 to twelve. Teenagers love gift cards, mall gift cards, hair appliances, shavers, sports balls, those kinds of things.”

You can also make a cash donation to the Surrey Christmas Bureau online.