Once again we find ourselves on the other side of the holiday rush with many stories full of shared joy. We are so thankful for another amazing year!  Together with the help of all the wonderful sponsors and donors we were able to help 542 families in Abbotsford! This means that 1,171 children and 859 adults received a delicious Christmas dinner and found unexpected surprises under the tree. Choosing which stories to share with you was difficult for us as there were so many to choose from!  Here are a few we picked, some from the perspective of the families receiving help and a couple from the perspective of sponsors. Before we dive into their stories, we want to take a moment to say how incredibly thankful we are for your partnership and dedication to our community. Thank you for believing in the Christmas Bureau program by participating with the love and kindness that we witnessed over and over.

 

Stories of receiving Christmas

I was moved to tears by the kindness and generosity of my sponsor family. They brought their children and had a small play-date outside with my 3 kids and asked genuine questions about our well-being (one of the members of the family was my maternity nurse in 2011 and remembered me). It was such a heartwarming, touching experience and I am eternally grateful! It was the single most positive experience I have ever had! I wish I could explain to my sponsor family how much it means to me and my kids, and how deeply it touched us all during a very hard transition in our lives (transitioning through divorce). – Sponsored Family

 

I would like to thank the Christmas Bureau this year for helping my family and me out this was something special to all of us. When we got to the Christmas Bureau I was kind of shy and standoffish to go in. The people that helped us were awesome. There was no looking down on me and there was no treating me like a person that had nothing. They treated me like I was a million dollars. I thank you very much from the bottom of my heart I don’t usually tear up but that day I did. Usually I’m strong enough and well enough to take care of my family but you guys outdid yourselves for me to have a great Christmas with my children thank you so much. I’m not very good at writing stories or anything but thank you from the bottom of our hearts. – Christmas Bureau Recipient

Stories of giving Christmas

Each year we sponsor two families with the youth ministry from our church. The youth use their own money to donate towards gifts and leaders and parents are welcomed to donate as well. Using these funds as well as some funds from our ministry budget we get the gifts and groceries for the families and then a leader and a few youth deliver the hampers the week before Christmas. As in years passed, this year we were met by gratitude, tears and hugs as we brought the gifts and food to these homes. It’s hard to hold back your own tears as you stand there embraced a lovely woman who could not have otherwise provided a Christmas to her children. This program has been an amazing way to show love and bless those who are facing difficult times. Thank you for the work you do in lining up this incredible outreach. – Arnold Community Church Youth Group

 

I was so thrilled when my supervisors agreed to collecting donations for this cause, and so overwhelmed by the positive response of my coworkers. We made and then exceeded our budget. It was so much fun to shop for the little one, and we were so excited to find the perfect gift for the parents as well. Dropping their hamper off and seeing the excitement in the child’s eyes as she spied the wrapped gifts with her name all over them, was almost too much. She introduced me to her cat upon learning how I loved them as a thank you, and then eagerly got to work arranging everything under the tree. I got a beautiful heartfelt email from the mother in the days following, and pictures of her beautiful little girl tearing into her gifts. I can’t wait to do this again next year. – Anonymous Business sponsor

If you have a story or feedback you would like to share with the Abbotsford Christmas Bureau, please email Laura Balzer or Sarah Quiring.  Thank you!