Empty Stocking Fund: Since 1996, Wayne Kuyer and his colleagues at Kuyer and Associates have been dressing up as characters from the traditional Charles Dickens 1843 novella and visiting companies in Langley.
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The Alastair Sim model, no query.
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That’s the reply Wayne Kuyer offers when requested about his favorite model of A Christmas Carol.
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Since 1996, Kuyer and his colleagues at Kuyer and Associates have been dressing up as characters from the traditional Charles Dickens 1843 novella and visiting companies in Langley. In its 27 years of Christmas-time fundraising, the accounting agency has raised $373,863 for The Province Empty Stocking Fund and the Langley Christmas Bureau.
“We ship out a discover that Bob Cratchit and Jacob Marley are going to be coming into city,” Kuyer stated. “We choose per week and we go to individuals over that timeframe. They’re conscious that we’re persevering with a convention. In most cases, we’re focusing on our common donors. Lots of people simply ship in cheques to maintain it easy.”
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Kuyer got here up with the concept along with his enterprise associate Stephen de Verteuil. They centered on Scrooge and Marley as a result of the characters “could be a straightforward match,” Kuyer stated.
Nonetheless, de Verteuil handed away in 2002, at 47.
“He at all times performed Scrooge and I at all times performed Marley,” Kuyer stated. “He was a manner better-looking Scrooge than I used to be. When he handed away, I endeavoured to do that alone. We devoted the trigger to him.”
As of late, the Scrooge costume is mothballed. Kuyer remains to be Marley, however now one other member of the agency, Kyle Murray, attire as Bob Cratchit on their annual pilgrimages.
“I didn’t really feel it was acceptable for me to step into the Scrooge position, and I didn’t need Kyle to be my overlord,” Kuyer jokes.
Murray wanted little convincing, though dressing up as a Victorian gentleman and canvassing neighbourhood companies will not be within the normal accounting agency job description.
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“Truthfully, by wanting on the historical past of the custom, you get bought instantly,” he stated. “And I’m outgoing, so it’s a enjoyable factor to do reasonably than a chore.”
Since this is a chance to socialize with some those who they normally solely see annually, the 2022 outing has particular resonance.
“We haven’t seen them in additional than a 12 months, in some cases,” Murray stated. “We have been very conscious of COVID and being conscious that not everyone desires individuals coming and going. COVID has tempered our strategy to a level. This 12 months, we’ll be out and about a little bit greater than within the final two years.”
Regardless of being house- and office-bound the final couple of years, Kuyer and Associates nonetheless raised a few of its largest hauls within the effort’s historical past. In 2020, they introduced in just below $28,000, and final 12 months noticed over $33,000 in donations.
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“Our goal this 12 months is $25,000,” Kuyer stated. “Final 12 months, we had two very beneficiant contributors. I’ll hit them up once more, however we’re not anticipating fairly the identical windfall.”
The donations type a part of the quantity collected annually for the Empty Stocking Fund. Now in its 104th 12 months, The Province’s annual Christmas marketing campaign raises cash for group and charitable companies that present meals, toys and different objects for native households and folks in want at Christmas.
“Actually, it’s simply to get our faces again in entrance of individuals,” Murray stated of their annual donor drive. This 12 months, it takes place Dec. 12-16.
“Individuals are normally fairly blissful to see us. Particularly in the event that they’re common donors. Strolling into new companies, we’d get bizarre seems, however by the tip of it everybody’s laughing and having a very good time.”
“Once you go into a few of these places of work we’re coping with individuals who have skilled this for the final 10 or 15 years,” Kuyer stated. “It’s a convention. For instance, we’ll stroll right into a dentist’s workplace when he’s in the course of a process. However very often, they’ll need to step outdoors to acknowledge we’re there and share a number of ideas.” After the filling, we hope.
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Originally posted 2022-11-19 17:00:44.