Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are giving communities, and that is never more evident than around the holidays.
In the last few weeks, we’ve seen fundraisers and food drives large and small.
A few dozen Maple Ridge Secondary students collected more than 565 pounds of food and $2,900 for the Friends in Need Food Bank on one day.
The 39th annual Broken Balls Golf Tournament drew 126 golfers to support the food bank.
The annual Firefighters for Families donation drive took place on Dec. 13, and on Friday, Dec. 19 the annual CPKC Holiday Train rolls into town featuring a free concert by the Barenaked Ladies, with big donations expected to flow from that event to Friends In Need and the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Christmas Hamper Society.
Those are just a few of the recent food and toy drives, and there are too many local and regional collections for food, warm clothing, and money to mention at this time of the year.
The sad things is that this flurry of seasonal aid is very necessary.
We live in a country, region, and community that has seen rising rates of homelessness for well over a decade. Those with homes have been feeling the pinch, too. For the working poor, seniors on fixed incomes, and those living on disability or other forms of social assistance, inflation has been a major crisis.
The use of food banks has gone up sharply. According to Food Banks Canada, there were more than 2.16 million food bank visits per month across the nation. Monthly food bank visits have almost doubled since 2019.
It remains a scandal that our country has not yet solved the problems of food security and housing security. We should not require a network of non-profits and charities and annual fundraising drives to ensure everyone in Canada can have enough to eat and a few presents during the holidays.
But thanks to the incredible effort of charity workers, students, faith-based groups, emergency responders, and hundreds of local businesses and individuals, we see it through year after year.
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are giving communities because they are filled with giving people, as are most towns and cities from coast to coast to coast in Canada.
We care about all our residents, whether that means tucking $5 in a Christmas kettle or spending weeks organizing a blanket drive.
This holiday season, remember two things: first, that giving makes a real difference. It gives people the necessities of life, but it also lets them know they are valued, that people care about them.
Second, that it does not have to be this way. If we work hard, we can have a Christmas where we won’t need food drives.