North Vancouver’s ‘Santa Hank’ expects to hand out more Christmas stockings this year
Posted December 8, 2023 6:01 pm.
Last Updated December 8, 2023 6:03 pm.
A man from North Vancouver is hoping to support some of the city’s most vulnerable this holiday season, and this year he expects to help more people than he has in the past.
Since 2008, Hank Brennan, also known as “Santa Hank,” has been running Hank’s Christmas Glitter, a year-round non-profit group that raises funds by gathering bottles, cans, cardboard boxes, and plastic bags for recycling money from depots.
He gives the money he gets from the depots right back to the community in the form of gift cards to establishments like McDonald’s, Tim Hortons, and grocery stores.
But this year, he truly embodies Saint Nick’s generosity by handing out stockings to those experiencing homelessness filled with basic essentials.
Brennan says he usually hands out 75 stockings but expects around 100 stockings this month, noting an increase in unhoused people he has noticed in the community.
He adds that his project also extends to helping families already supported by local churches, especially around the holidays, as they have a list of families they help with hampers and gifts.
“We have a lot of fun with it. Some people call it work … but they don’t realize it’s not called work when you’re doing something that you love doing.”
They will start handing stockings out next week through to Christmas morning.
