Charity says Calgarians 'have a huge opportunity' to give back this season
The increased cost of living through inflation, sky rocketing energy costs along with high rents and food prices is hurting vulnerable families who have nothing left at the end of the month after they pay their bills.
Closer To Home is a non-profit organization that hosts many programs for vulnerable families. This time of year, the group's Adopt-A-Family program brings relief to families who wouldn't be able to have Christmas without the generosity of Calgarians.
But this year organizers are seeing an overwhelming number of people apply to the program that began more than 15 years ago.
Karen Olivier, the CEO of Closer to Home, says this year, 650 families applied to be adopted and another 150 were placed on a waiting list.
"Calgarians have an opportunity to make a huge contribution to the community right now," she said. "For people that are really struggling and people who are actually choosing right now between, do I pay the rent, or do I have a holiday, will there be gifts under the tree for my kids, so this allows them to actually do that."
When Olivier started the program, it hosted around 40 families but she has watched the numbers steadily increase with the highest amount in the last three years.
"That's really been, I think, a testimony to how hard things are for families right now in Calgary," said Olivier. "They're really struggling out there so we need that support from just your average Calgarian to say hey, I'm going to adopt a family this year."
Carline Volcy has seven children and first applied to the program for help in 2011. She says she has no money left at the end of the month for any extras her kids might want.
"Sometimes you have to pick and choose. Right now, my electricity (bill) is huge so I have to pick what's important," she said. "Like food on the table, I have to have electricity, I have to have entertainment because seven kids it's a lot, even that is expensive."
Volcy has been accepted to receive gift cards from Adopt-A-Family worth $125 dollars for each person in the home.
"Oh, it makes this season magical for my kids," said Volcy. "It makes the season magical for me, I get to give something to my kids that I can't give all the time because nowadays things are very expensive so this is a huge thing for my kids."
The program coordinator for Closer to Home Fay Omarshide meets with many of the emotional applicants.
"A family told me that her kids are still young so if they don't get support, then they're not going to have Christmas," she said. "Their kids are going to be; 'Okay, well there is no such thing as Santa Claus now.'"
She says many times she slips into a back room of the office to wipe tears away after hearing from vulnerable families but she says the work is rewarding when families come for their gift cards.
"All the work that we do, there's a purpose for it because once we get to meet the family and see them come in, they are so overwhelmed when they received their packages, they're in tears, they're shaking," said Omarshide. "$200 to us might not mean that much but to those families, they're blown away because $200 to them is everything."
Olivier is hopeful many Calgarians step up to help vulnerable families in their community to have a merry Christmas.
"That's really been, I think, a testimony to how hard things are for families right now in Calgary," she said. "That they're really struggling out there so we need that support from just your average Calgarian to say hey, I'm going to adopt a family this year."
Learn more about Adopt-A-Family here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.