Candice Dube is grateful for the support she and her two children receive from the community each Christmas.
The Times Colonist Christmas Fund is one of the local initiatives that has helped bring holiday spirit to the home she shares with her 16-year-old son, Graham, and 11-year-old daughter, Kaitlin.
“They’ve been excellent.”
Dube said one of the highlights of the season for the family is the annual Mustard Seed Christmas dinner, held last Sunday at the Bay Street Armoury.
She said her family has attended and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere for about six years.
“They do a really good job,” she said. “This year it [was] absolutely wonderful.”
Dube marvelled at the amount of food that gets served to guests, and said it is always one of the family’s best meals of the season.
The Mustard Seed meal is an important part of Christmas because money can be tight in her household, Dube said, making it difficult for her to afford a meal like the one served Sunday.
“I’m a single parent with my two kids,” she said. “I’m at home with them.”
Recent circumstances have put her in a particularly difficult spot, she said, and any help she receives means a great deal.
She said she is looking forward to receiving a hamper, as well.
This year, the Christmas Fund is joining with the Mustard Seed and the Salvation Army in an effort to ensure donations collected are spread as widely as possible through their hamper programs, an arrangement Dube said makes good sense.
HOW TO DONATE
Go to timescolonist.com/christmasfund. The link on the page takes you to a site that’s open 24 hours a day for donations and provides an immediate tax receipt.
Or mail a cheque, made out to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, to the Times Colonist at 2621 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C. V8T 4M2.
You can also use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438 during office hours, Monday through Friday.
