Make a gift to the Christmas Bureau and brighten this holiday season.
The Christmas Bureau helps to ensure that low-income families, individuals, and seniors living in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Lions Bay, and on Bowen Island can celebrate the season.
Ways to donate
There are many ways you can support the Christmas Bureau and make a difference in your community:
1. Make a donation
Your donation helps guarantee that our team can provide individually-selected presents and holiday gift baskets for more than 2,500 people.
2. Support a Family or Individual
The Christmas Bureau team wishes to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our sponsors this season. We have successfully matched sponsors with all of our families and individuals needing support, and we greatly appreciate this community’s generosity. If you wish to support the Christmas Bureau in other ways, we are still in need of grocery gift cards and gratefully accepting monetary donations.
3. Make an in-kind donation
Christmas Bureau clients receive grocery gift cards, toiletries such as shampoo, soap, deodorant and lotion, personal care items, toys, donated gifts, and many other basic essentials. There is a deep and ongoing need for these items, and your in-kind donation will ensure that vulnerable members of our community can celebrate and take care of themselves and their families over the holiday season. The Christmas Bureau serves children 0 – 18, and tweens and teens are often harder to buy for. To help you get started, we have prepared a tween and teen wish list.
4. Donate to the Gift Drive at the Northshore Auto Mall
Thank you to the Northshore Auto Mall for hosting and sponsoring the Gift Drive and to all of the generous community members who attended. Because of you, we were able to fill our Toy Shop shelves and brighten the holidays for many children and youth on the North Shore!
The Northshore Auto Mall generously pledged to match all Gift Drive donations made, up to $10,000. Gift Drive donations go directly toward purchasing toys and gifts for children and teens, to ensure vulnerable North Shore families can share in the joy of the holidays with presents under the tree.
5. Visit a Community Pop-Up
Thank you to our talented volunteers who created the wonderful gifts sold at our Community Pop-Ups. 100% of proceeds go to families in need, all materials are graciously donated and every item purchased is handmade with love by a Family Services of the North Shore volunteer.
6. Support our School Engagement Program
Become an ambassador for the Christmas Bureau and help us connect with schools across the North Shore. The main goal of our school engagement program is to generate awareness of the Christmas Bureau program in our community so we can help more people in need of support this holiday season. We are asking ambassadors to help us connect with the school community to pass along information on how the Christmas Bureau can help any family who might benefit from this giving program this holiday season. Every request for assistance is treated with compassion, respect and complete confidentiality. Click here to learn more about the Caring Schools Initiative and click here to learn more about the Soap for Hope Program. For more information email caringschools@familyservices.bc.ca.
7. Support Bikes for Tykes
Each fall our partner, Obsession Bikes, solicits donations of used bikes to fix up for safe riding. The Christmas Bureau then identifies local children who need a bike and delivers a refurbished two-wheeler to them (along with a brand-new helmet) in time for the holidays. For more information email christmas@familyservices.bc.ca
Volunteer with the Christmas Bureau
While our volunteer programs run year-round, the Christmas Bureau is the time of greatest need. If you would like to volunteer with the Christmas Bureau or another Family Services of the North Shore Program, you can learn more here.
Visit the Christmas Bureau at the Community Hub
The Christmas Bureau is located at the Family Services of the North Shore Community Hub in Capilano Mall, 943 Marine Drive, 2nd floor, North Vancouver. The entrance is on the upper floor of the former Sears department store via the P2 parking garage off Hanes Avenue (look for the four brightly coloured doors and Family Services of the North Shore signs along the far west wall). We are currently accepting in-kind donations Monday-Thursday from 10:00am-4:00pm.