From the BCPS for Freedom Mutual Aid Group:
We’ve just kicked off our holiday basket drive for BCPS for Freedom families and we need your help!
Our goal is to find donors to provide holiday baskets for 50 families in need by Friday December 10, 2021. We are off to a good start but we are looking for both donors and recipients. So far we have 12/50 donors (24% of target) and 8/50 recipients (16% of target).
Here’s how it works:
- Donors pay for and assemble their own holiday baskets. Given the short time-frame and geographical challenges we decided not to try to handle cash donations and do central assembly. Instead, we will match donors and recipients in the same areas and help with things like delivery or securing specifically requested items.
- Recipients can request a holiday basket and specify any particular requirements, such as gluten free food items or special gifts for a child. For example, we have one request to buy a birthday gift for a 10 year-old whose birthday is Christmas day!
Donors:
Contact: Direct message (DM) in Telegram to Amiga (Telegram group: BC Public Service Employees for Freedom: General Chat)
We are suggesting a value of $100 as a guideline. If that is too much for you at this time, ask your friends and co-workers to commit to chipping in. Let’s get those who are sympathetic and who still have jobs to donate too! Other options for donors include:
- Volunteer to deliver a basket, based on location
- Gifts in kind: small toys or books, homemade preserves, and goodies
- Gift cards for groceries, Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, gas, etc.
- We’re open to other suggestions!
Suggested items for your holiday gift basket (go local, organic, gluten-free if you can):
| candy canes | mandarins |
| cheese | mulled spices |
| chocolate | nuts |
| coffee | olives |
| cookies (homemade or store-bought) | preserves |
| gluten free crackers | smoked salmon |
| hot chocolate | terry chocolate orange |
| jams and jellies | vegan cheese |
| gift cards for food | gift cards for gas |
Basket or bag? You can go with either. We’ve sourced some inexpensive festive bags from Michael’s and other other stores.
Recipients
Contact: email Andrea at andinoandrea@icloud.com
Tell us where you live and what special items you are looking for. We’ll do our best to match your request with a donor or donors.
Nominate a recipient! If you know of someone in the group chat, registered channel, or any other associated groups that sounds like they could benefit from a gift basket, please go ahead and nominate that person by emailing Andrea. We’ll contact that person and confirm if they wish to be a recipient.
