Due to longtime volunteers, SHARE's toy store program runs like a well-oiled machine

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When Claire MacLean, SHARE Household & Neighborhood Providers government director, says that the group’s toy store is run “like a army operation,” she’s not kidding.

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“We’ve bought individuals who have been doing this for many years,” she mentioned. “It’s actually pretty to see them take newer volunteers below their wing and stroll them by means of how issues are completed.”

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Now in its fiftieth yr, SHARE helps 22,000 folks within the Tri-Cities space, together with Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra, and New Westminster, by means of its year-round meals financial institution and vacation hamper and toy store packages. The group grew out of a youngsters’s clothes trade in Gertie Grosser’s basement. The Coquitlam resident died in 2020.

Final yr, the group offered toys/presents to over 1,100 youngsters from 0 to 17 years of age and gave out over 820 vacation meals hampers. Donations to The Province’s Empty Stocking Fund assist make the help attainable.

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Considered one of SHARE’s longtime meals financial institution and toy store volunteers, Jan Richen is a Burnaby resident who has been with the non-profit for practically 20 years.

“Yep, the foundations don’t change,” mentioned Richen when requested concerning the militarization of the toy store. “We’ve bought it right down to a science now. No person must ask anyone something. Everyone knows what we’re doing.”

The volunteers bundle up about $50 value of donated toys into plastic baggage. Mother and father can select a bag for every little one relying on their pursuits.

As with different bureaus, discovering toys for older youngsters is an issue.

“When folks wish to purchase a present, they consider a cute little five-year-old,” Richen mentioned. “No person thinks concerning the teen.”

As a substitute of making an attempt to anticipate the needs of this notoriously troublesome cohort, SHARE gives reward playing cards for the native mall.

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The SHARE purchasers that Richen sees are grateful for the assistance.

“There’ve been a number of people who are available in they usually simply are sobbing and saying, ‘My youngsters wouldn’t have Christmas if it wasn’t for you. You do such an awesome job.’ ”

Through the years, SHARE has welcomed extra newcomers to Canada.

“Quite a lot of our persons are refugees who’ve simply come from a camp someplace and been dropped off right here they usually actually don’t have any thought what’s occurring,” Richen mentioned. “So it’s type of a whirlwind for them. They’re actually grateful. You already know that you just’re giving youngsters a Christmas. That’s the rationale for doing it.”

“The Tri-Cities space has one of many largest rising populations of newcomers throughout the province,” MacLean mentioned. “General, our meals financial institution numbers are up 50 per cent from the identical time final yr. A few of these further purchasers are newcomers and refugees, however they’re additionally folks which might be from the realm and are additionally needing further assist.”

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She anticipates the next want this yr for SHARE’s vacation meals financial institution providers: “We’re centered on giving folks as a lot alternative as attainable and provides them as a lot dignity within the course of as we are able to.”

Together with offering prepacked hampers, “we now concentrate on a buying mannequin the place folks choose the objects which might be most acceptable for his or her tradition and their household. After which we additionally present reward playing cards in order that they’ll use them at an area grocery retailer to pick out the objects which might be most helpful to them.”

And this yr, SHARE is once more co-sponsoring a Christmas tree and toy donation program with the Coquitlam Centre, one thing it wasn’t been in a position to do due to COVID-19.

Richen missed 2020 due to the pandemic however the 77-year-old was again at slinging toys in 2021.

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“It’s a number of enjoyable as a result of it’s the identical group of girls that I’ve been doing it with all these years,” she mentioned. “We simply actually get pleasure from it.”

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