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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
China's latest EV is a 'connected' car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi
Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country's booming but crowded market for electric cars.