‘Operation Elf’ flies gifts to B.C. communities isolated after flooding

Shaun Heaps doesn’t live at the North Pole. He doesn’t have a long white beard, a red suit, or a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. But for some B.C. communities still cut off after catastrophic flooding — he may as well be Santa Claus.

With the help of a massive, diverse crew from across the Lower Mainland, Heaps is one of the volunteer pilots loading up planes with gifts and dropping them off throughout the hard-hit Fraser Canyon. Dubbed ‘Operation Elf,’ the effort is an attempt to bring some joy to people who have lost so much.

The Siska, Nicomen, Nooaitch and Lytton First Nations are among those that remain virtually cut off from the rest of the province. Although some travel by car is possible, Heaps says the situation remains “hairy” and volunteers are still flying in essentials, which they’ve been doing for over a month. So far, they’ve flown in close to 400,000 lbs of goods.

“What we did was reached out to the communities and found out what their needs were,” he says.

“It’s funny because the joke around it was calling it ‘Shaun-mart’ because I had so much stuff. I had cat food, dog food, livestock food, baby food, diapers — you name it. If you think of a Walmart we pretty much had everything that was in a Walmart.”

But in the last week they’ve shifted gears, setting up makeshift shopping centres in community halls where people can come and pick out gifts to give family and friends.

The initial plan was to deliver pre-wrapped presents. After talking with chiefs and elders, Heaps said everyone decided it would be better to let people choose gifts for their loved ones.

“We kind of went ‘Here’s a whole bunch of stuff, pick out whatever you want and go shopping. Here’s some gift bags, here’s wrapping paper, here’s tape — everything,'” Heaps explains.

“So, then they can kind of make Christmas happen for themselves.”

Now, Heaps says, people recently devastated by flooding can enjoy giving and receiving gifts without added financial pressure, and without having to travel outside of their communities.

“You name it, we had it. Anything you could think of, we shipped out. It’s just awesome to hear back from communities, the appreciation of what we’ve done,” he says.

The first major drop off was to the Siska First nation, located between Lytton and Boston Bar. The first plane dropped off 10 boxes, then the rest of the fleet arrived.

“All of a sudden there was another helicopter and then another helicopter. And then two more helicopters came in, and then some more helicopters came in. At the end of it they sent me a message. They were like, ‘Holy crap, I can’t believe I like how much stuff you gave us. This is absolutely amazing. I can’t believe you did this,'” Heaps explains.

“It brought the spirit back of Christmas to these communities that have been hit really hard. For us, it put a smile on our face.”

The ‘elves’ making sure the planes are filled up include volunteers at gurdwaras, established non-profits like Mamas for Mamas, groups of university students, staff at animal shelters, and individuals who’ve taken it upon themself to lend a hand.

“Just seeing all the people come out, and seeing how there’s so many good people in the world still is awesome. To be part of that is just been awesome. To have it all come together so nicely and work so well, it’s been an honour to work with all these people. It’s truly an honour.”

While the weather might prove a challenge, the plan is to continue making deliveries up until Dec.23.