A partnership between Harmac Pacific and Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island has grown substantially over the last six years. Linda Janes (pictured) helps coordinate the selection and delivery of gifts to area families. (submitted/BGCCVI)

By Alex Rawnsley

giving season

Christmas brighter for Nanaimo families thanks to long-standing partnership

Dec 13, 2020 | 7:28 AM

NANAIMO — What started as an informal partnership between Nanaimo’s pulp mill and the local Boys and Girls Club has evolved into a juggernaut of holiday joy.

Over the last six years mill workers and management at Harmac Pacific have banded together, initially collecting a few hundred dollars for the club but now raising upwards of $20,000 for area families and a multitude of non-profits.

Linda Janes, manager of the Chase River division of Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island, estimated the last donation BGCCVI received was around $10,000, an amount which did serious damage on holiday wish lists.

“The week before Christmas and Christmas Eve we’re out delivering gifts. One year we had money left over, this family came across my plate to help and we ended up at Walmart buying bicycles and delivering those on Christmas Eve.”

Around 20 families each year receive gifts and supports through BGCCVI alone. Janes said well over 100 families had been the recipient of a Christmas care package as a result of the multi-year partnership.

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BGCCVI routinely canvasses local service groups to ensure they’re helping families outside of the club’s bubble.

The club also makes sure it reaches out to at-risk youth in the community, particularly those transitioning out of the foster care system and living on their own for the first time.

Janes added the simple act of a Christmas gift can mean so much.

“For the youth, it’s that people remembered them, people know they’re there, people are worried about them and they care. For the children, it’s like Santa didn’t forget them, Santa showed up.”

In addition to the purchased gifts, the families of mill workers often add in extra items for the home such as toiletries and clothing.

The mill currently supports a fluid list of local non-profits including Nanaimo Foodshare, Nanaimo Child Development Centre and the Brain Injury Society.

“It was important to us they were local and really important they weren’t top heavy, we wanted one where a lot of the money goes to the program themselves, not administration,” Annette Dimitroff, plant protection department worker, said.

The mill operates a payroll deduction program to help maximize collections. Around 65 people at the mill actively donate money through the year.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley