RCRG - Blog - When A Community Comes Together
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More than 100 young leaders have graduated from the Youth Now program.
Each year, over 100 non-profit professionals attend our training opportunities.
Over two dozen non-profit organizations have participated in the Youth Now program.
The CCRR provides nearly 400 child care referrals per year.
On average, the CCRR hosts 30 workshops and training courses each year.
Every year, over 500 child care providers and parents attend CCRR training opportunities.
Every year, RCRG completes over 3,000 grocery orders for local seniors.
Nearly 300 seniors make use of our Better at Home services.
Our volunteer drivers complete more than 1,200 trips annually.
At least 350 people per year find a volunteer position using our Volunteer Match program.
Close to 500 volunteers support RCRG’s programs and services.
Volunteers contribute nearly 23,000 hours to our organization each year.
Each holiday season, the Richmond Christmas Fund helps more than 2,200 low-income residents.
Every year, the Christmas Fund provides over 600 children with toys, books, and sports equipment.
The Richmond Christmas Fund was first started by Ethel Tibbits, in the 1930s.
The number of Neighbourhood Small Grants we’ve awarded has increased every year since 2014.
Block parties are the most popular type of Neighbourhood Small Grant project.
Every year, the Richmond Women’s Resource Centre serves over 7,300 local women.
The Richmond Women’s Resource Centre currently offers 16 programs and services.
Nearly 60 volunteers support the Richmond Women’s Resource Centre, contributing nearly 2,500 hours per year.
Richmond is home to over 350 registered charities, all of which rely on volunteer support.
There are nearly 13 million volunteers across Canada.
International Volunteer Day is celebrated throughout the world on December 5.
There are 35 volunteer centres in British Columbia.
In 2016, the Foundation awarded 10 grants to non-profit organizations, worth a combined $59,000.
The Foundation manages $6 million in 60 Forever Funds, returning, on average, CPI plus 4%.
Between 2020 and 2022, the Foundation distributed $656,000 in grants, scholarships, charitable disbursements, and Emergency Community Support Funds.
Foundation activities result in the enhancement of our community and residents’ sense of belonging.
ROCA has raised over $21,000 for local charities.
ROCA has performed its Elementary School Concert Series to over 8,000 students.
ROCA provides mentoring and life changing opportunities for aspiring musicians.
The Richmond Arts Coalition was founded in November of 2005.
RAC co-produces the ArtRich exhibition every two years!
RAC highlights Richmond's arts events in a monthly email.
The Richmond Music School is the oldest not-for-profit music school in Richmond.
The Richmond Music School offers affordable music lessons through its diverse programming.
Our students performed 40 hours of music to welcome the Olympic athletes to the 2010 Olympic Games.
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RCRG Blog

When A Community Comes Together

Published November 05, 2019

Back in 2010, one of our volunteers created a video looking back on that year's Richmond Christmas Fund campaign. It began with the line, "When a community comes together, there isn't anything it can't do." Nearly 10 years later, that sentiment still holds true. The Christmas Fund is a program of RCRG, but it belongs to the community that makes it possible. And what a community it is!

This year's Christmas Fund campaign includes our widest selection of events ever! There's the Richmond RCMP Toy Drive & Pancake Breakfast, on November 16; the Christmas Classic Car Cruise, on December 1; and the Christmas Fund Drive-Thru Event, on December 3 (held at the sparkling new Brighouse Fire Hall No. 1). 

We haven't even mentioned the Richmond Auto Mall, which will host not one but two Christmas Fund events: Windows of Hope, on November 20, and A Not So Silent Night, on November 27. 

Last year, the Christmas Fund provided toys to nearly 800 children from low-income families. Every single item in our Toy Room was donated by the community. Toy drives, whether organized among friends, family, or colleagues, are hugely important to the program's success, and this year, dozens of companies and organizations have stepped up to offer their support.

As we speak, toy drives are being organized by MDA, Platinum Pro-Claim, River Rock Casino Resort, the Richmond Public Library, and Steveston's Splash Toy Shop

Meanwhile, staff members at the City of Richmond are not only organizing a toy drive, but an entire fundraising campaign. The City has long been a huge supporter of the Christmas Fund, but a new partnership this year will see us working more closely together to brighten the holidays for families in need!

Of course, we can't forget our ever-popular Gift Wrap booth at Lansdowne Centre, which opens December 1. For years and years, it's been one of our key fundraising activities.

We've already received major donations from the likes of Rubina Hope for Kids, O'Hare's GastroPub & Liquor Store, and The Province Empty Stocking Fund. Soon, we'll receive a large shipment of toys from the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau

There'll be other major donations, and hundreds of smaller ones. There will also be 140+ volunteers who, collectively, will contribute well over 2,000 hours. They are the heart and soul of the Christmas Fund, and its unsung heroes.

The 2010 video began with the line, "When a community comes together, there isn't anything it can't do." But there was also a second part: "And a community comes together best when it's needed the most."

Those two lines encapsulate the program, in 2010 and in 2019. The Christmas Fund has always been a community effort. We hope you'll be part of it