Did you know?

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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Wrapped To Perfection

Published September 26, 2019

Each year, the Richmond Christmas Fund runs a gift wrap booth at Lansdowne Centre, staffed entirely by volunteers. Customers can bring packages of any shape and size, no matter how lopsided or irregular, and our talented volunteers will eye them up and wrap them to perfection.

In return for having the best-looking presents under the tree, customers are asked to make a donation to the Christmas Fund. Over the course of the holiday season, these donations add up, generating thousands of dollars every year to support families in need.

Our 2019 gift wrap booth opens December 1, and will remain open every day, from 12:30pm to 6:00pm, until December 24. That’s a lot of volunteer shifts to fill!

We’re currently recruiting gift wrap volunteers, and of course, we’d love for you to get involved. But we wanted to go a little further, and explain why we need your help.

The following chart shows the number of customers per day at last year’s gift wrap booth.

Gift Wrap Visitors Per Day

The first week in December was relatively quiet. Indeed, there were no customers at all on December 3! But things picked up in weeks two and three, and the final four days had over 50 customers each, including 80 on December 24!

What does this mean for volunteer recruitment? Well, at the beginning of December, we’re confident our gift wrap booth can be staffed by two or three well-trained volunteers per shift.

During the second half of the month, however, and particularly in the days leading up to Christmas Eve, it’s all hands on deck.

Can you imagine three volunteers not only wrapping 80 gifts in the span of six hours, but also collecting donations, interacting with customers, and tagging the gifts to keep them organized? It’s not a three-person job. Even with six volunteers, it can get a little hectic! That’s why we need all the help we can get.

If you’ve been thinking about volunteering with the Christmas Fund, we hope you’ll consider becoming a gift wrapper. It’s a position that not only has a huge impact on the program, but is pretty exciting too, especially the closer you get to Christmas. There’s nothing like working with a team to accomplish a monumental task – just ask the elves in Santa’s workshop!

You can apply online until October 25.