Empty Stocking Fund: Hope Community Services comes through for the Fishers and other local families

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Two years after last talking to The Province about the holidays, Colette Fisher is happy to give another shout-out to Hope Community Services.

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“I know some families aren’t really comfortable talking about it, but I really don’t care,” Fisher said. “I’m grateful for everything and I’m a very transparent person. So it’s all good for me.”

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Thanks to Hope Community Services, she’ll have a turkey on the table for her kids, and gifts too.

“Some years they just give out gift cards for the grocery store and then you can choose what you need for your dinner. And they usually have a room set up where you just pick out toys for your age range. And sometimes they have little extras, board games and whatnot. It’s very helpful because it alleviates a little bit of stress at Christmas when you have such a big family.”

She has four children, three girls and a boy.

“You just pick through what’s there to find something that your kid’s gonna be interested in. I’m sure I’ll get some Barbies for the girls. And gift cards for the older kids. They’re the hard ones. They just want cards so they can buy what they want.”

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Hope Community Services is one of 26 B.C. community organizations that receive donations from readers of The Province through our Empty Stocking Fund.

“I feel like this year the holiday programs are really, really overwhelmed,” she said. “And so I hope a lot of donations come in so that everybody gets a good piece of the pie.”

Fisher says that the past year has been tough. She doesn’t quite make minimum wage at the motel she manages. She and her family live on-site.

“It comes with housing. It’s a low income for a family of five. Hope Community Services actually helps me out a lot. They do other types of like giveaways, like donations that they receive from Starbucks and Save-On-Foods.”

She calls the volunteers at Hope Community Services “super-amazing.

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“I find that they go the extra mile for everybody, to make sure that everything’s taken care of.”

For this holiday season, she says she’ll have some family over for dinner.

“I like to cook a big meal on Christmas Day. I usually do a big breakfast too. It’s just a nice quiet time at home with family.”

Other Christmas traditions around the Fisher household include putting on the yule log channel, playing Christmas music and watching Home Alone.

And Richard, a family friend will pay a visit, dressed as Santa.

“The kids love it. The older kids get into the spirit for the older ones.”

The Province’s Empty Stocking Fund campaign runs until Dec. 31.

Donations can be made by:

Online at: https://theprovince.com/esf

Mail to: The Province Empty Stocking Fund

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968 East Cordova St., Vancouver, B.C., V6A 1M6

By calling: 604-253-6911

2023 direct donation link: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/DonationPage.aspx?eventid=385682

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