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Triple header for Richmond Christmas Fund Drive-thru

Annual event, this Thursday from 6 to 10:30 a.m., will take place at three locations

You could say that the Richmond Christmas Fund Drive-Thru is going to be three times as good this year.

What started off in 2011 as an experiment at the former Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel has grown into a simultaneous, three-location event across Richmond this Thursday from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

As well as being in the parking lot at Lansdowne Centre — near the Canada Line station — The Richmond Christmas Fund’s fifth annual toy and cash donation drive-thru will also be stationed at the River Rock Casino and the Pacific Gateway Hotel, on Cessna Drive.

Each year for the last four years, hundreds of toys and thousands of dollars in cash have been generously donated by Richmondites for local families in need at Christmas time.

“For each family member, there is a gift/food certificate and then there is a toy room, with hundreds of toys, sectioned out in terms of age and boys or girls,” explained Ed Gavsie, executive director of Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives (RCRG), which runs the Richmond Christmas Fund.

“The parents get to choose a couple of toys for their children.”

Registration starts on Saturday, Nov. 28 for families who might benefit from the fund.

“We gave out around 2,000 gift cards last year,” added Gavsie.

“As well as the drive-thru, hundreds of toys come in from various drives across the city, organized by the public and organizations, such as the RCMP.”

Meanwhile, Gavsie explained how RCRG will not be running the family sponsorship program, due, in part, to the sometimes large discrepancy between what some families would receive from their sponsor compared to others.

“We found that some families would end up getting $500 worth of gifts, while another would get $1,500,” said Gavsie.

“The matching system was also very labour intensive and took a lot of human resources to achieve.

“This year, from a registration standpoint, this will very much be a transitional year.

We will now be working with a social services partner, who will identify families most in need. After all, they know their stories and are best placed to tell us who needs help.

“But anyone who received help in 2014, will receive help again, if they ask for it.”

The Richmond Christmas Fund will be doing same day family registration and toy pick up on various dates over the next couple of weeks, starting Saturday, at Richmond Caring Place, 7000 Minoru Blvd.

Registrants are being urged to bring all required documents and be ready to take toys home with them on the same day they register. And if they have children, they must arrange their own childcare, as children will not be allowed in the fund’s toy room.

To allow enough time to complete the registration process, registrants are asked to allow for about an hour.

For a full list of the pick-up days and the documentation required to register (for example: City of Richmond Recreation Fee Subsidy Program; Guaranteed Income Supplement; BC Child Care Subsidy; BC Housing assistance), call 604-279-7035 or go online to volunteerrichmond.ca/programs.

If you’d like to help the Richmond Christmas Fund in some way, call 604-279-7020 or e-mail info@rcrg.org.