The pages of today's paper, you will see a list of donors to this year’s Times Colonist Christmas Fund. It’s a substantial list, even if it does not include every name of every donor. And it is only the first of several such lists this year.
The list was compiled a few days ago, just after your fund cleared $500,000. It was at $562,700 when we stopped counting on Tuesday.
Beyond that, many people prefer to remain anonymous. We had another $10,000 cheque on Tuesday morning, along with a request that the name of the donor not be revealed.
Some donors like their names kept confidential, and we respect that. Some want us to publish their names, or the names of their loved ones, and some want us to pay tribute to their family members. We respect all of those requests as well, if we possibly can.
The sheer size of this week’s list forced us to drop some of the wording that donors had asked for. We hope that their messages of hope and caring still shine through.
The Times Colonist Christmas Fund matters to our community. It helps those in need, and the numbers seeking help this year are higher than ever before. The pandemic has had a brutal impact on almost everyone.
That fact helps to make this year’s fund so remarkable: So many people are ready to help those less fortunate.
We have already raised more than ever before, with donations from 2,200 people, with a couple of weeks still to go. We will keep at it, keep encouraging you to give, until Christmas, and maybe even a bit beyond.
We are distributing the money to organizations that are facing a huge demand for their services. (The word “unprecdented” seems trite at this point, but it says so much about this pandemic year.)
If you want to give money online, go to timescolonist.com/donate. That will take you to the Canada Helps website, which is open 24 hours a day and provides an immediate tax receipt.
You could also mail a cheque, payable to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund Society, to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, 201-655 Tyee Road, Victoria V9A 6X5.
Or use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. Outside those hours, messages will be accepted.
Your donation does not have to be in cash. If you have recyclable cans or bottles, they are worth money as well.
All this month, the proceeds of donations placed in the charity bins at the three Bottle Depot locations in Victoria and Saanich will be shared by the Times Colonist Christmas Fund and CFAX Santas Anonymous.
The community has come together as never before. We really are all in this together, and your Times Colonist Christmas Fund is a great example of the power of working together.
Thank you, yet again.
Dave Obee
Editor and Publisher
dobee@timescolonist.com
