Every year during the holiday season, the Canadian Web Hosting team spends their time volunteering at Union Gospel Mission’s (UGM) Downtown Eastside location. Usually, we volunteer in the kitchen where we help the UGM chefs prepare meals to be served in the dining hall. This year, we got the exciting opportunity to participate in the “Gifts of Hope” Christmas hamper program.
UGM’s Christmas hamper program alleviates some of the stress of the holidays and gives low-income families in UGM programs and the Downtown Eastside community the chance to experience some of the joys of the Christmas season. Donors filled hundreds of Christmas hampers with items from non-perishable food to warm clothing to toys for the little ones. Our volunteers were paired up with a UGM staff member and each group was given a list of homes to deliver Christmas hampers to. It was amazing to see the joy from those behind the doors we knocked on!
We always have an amazing experience volunteering at UGM. If you are interested in volunteering in the DTES, we definitely recommend Union Gospel Mission, for they have an extraordinary staff and facility. Below are some photos we managed to take in the busy day.
[…] Every Christmas, UGM delivers Christmas Hampers to low-income families. Families create a wishlist of the items their members need and the items are then donated by local businesses, organizations, and churches. CWH helped with this Christmas Hamper program previously. […]