Christmas: A time of family, a time of celebration, a time of festive feasting.
But what happens when you can't afford to buy groceries, let alone food for that special Christmas dinner?
Worse yet, what if you turn to your local food bank for help, only to find out that its shelves are almost bare, too?
With just a few weeks to go before Christmas, Share Family and Community Services has put out an urgent appeal for donations. It has only two and a half weeks' worth of food on its shelves at a time of year when there are more demands on its services.
To that end, the Tri-City News is supporting the cause with its Coins for Kids campaign and Caring for Kids.
Here's how it works: Drop your coins — including pennies — into a Coins for Kids bucket at Port Moody Police HQ, the RCMP detachment or any community police station, or any Scotiabank branch in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody through Dec. 31. Scotia Bank is will match donations made at its branches up to a maximum of $5,000.
You can also drop off cheques made payable to Share Family and Community Services Society.
Online donations can also be made at www.fundaid.ca/tricitieskids — any amount, large or small can make a difference — and you can also use the convenient social media buttons to let your friends and family know that you are sharing the spirit of the season.
One hundred per cent of the proceeds of The Tri-City News' Caring for Kids campaign will go to Share's food bank.
The goal is to have enough food at the end of the year — 40,000 food items or 800 shopping carts' worth — to last through the first quarter of 2016.
