Volunteers to build holiday hampers for Vancouver families

Volunteers in Vancouver are giving back to those in need as the holidays approach, with hundreds of hampers being filled.

Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 British Columbia Federation of Labour (BCFED) volunteers are set to unpack, sort, and bundle donated food and gifts for Vancouver families in need.

BCFED President Sussanne Skidmore says this kind of work is a major opportunity to highlight people coming together to help each other out through the holiday season.

“Over the years, labour volunteers have helped tens of thousands of local families make the holiday season a little easier. It’s one way we show our solidarity with people who are struggling to get by,” said Skidmore.

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The BCFED’s 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID complications, so the organization decided to make a couple of changes in 2021 to ensure the Labour Holiday Community Event goes ahead as planned, according to Skidmore,

“As with last year, to keep people safe, we aren’t serving our traditional sit-down meal. But thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and the generosity of our donors, we’ll have a thousand hampers to fill and give away,” she explained.

With help from Save On Foods, Superstore, BC Fresh Vegetable, and a few other support groups, the BCFED already has 1,000 holiday hampers to give to families in need.

Hamper prep takes place on Dec. 21 and 22, while the community event itself will be held on Dec. 23 at the Maritime Labour Centre.