By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Nanaimo campaign filling shoeboxes with gifts and hope for northern B.C. communities

Dec 8, 2017 | 4:16 PM

NANAIMO — This Christmas, not all the gifts you give have to end up under your tree.

A local chapter of the national charity I Love First Peoples recently opened and organizer Nicole Cameron hopes to send as many shoeboxes as possible to Indigenous communities in remote parts of northern B.C.

“In 2017 in Canada, we have people living in poverty conditions all over, including the Island, but in some instances, these semi-remote or remote locations may not even have running water or electricity,” Cameron told NanaimoNewsNOW. “There’s very high rates of suicide in Indigenous children, up to even 15 years old. The statistics are just frightening.”

Cameron is hoping generous Nanaimo residents will fill shoeboxes with everything from small toys to flashlights, instruments and puzzles. Once the boxes are completed, it should be written whether the gifts are intended for a boy, girl or both and also what age they’re for.

After a letter to the children and $5 to cover shipping is inside, it can be dropped off at Frontrunners Footwear.

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“It’s just a way for us to show that Canada and Nanaimo care,” Cameron said.

Given how tight the holiday season can be, even a letter will do.

“If you can bring a smile to a child’s face, it’s priceless.”

The deadline to drop off your shoebox was extended to Dec. 15.

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