While it’s only the end of June, seven organizations in the city are already preparing for the Christmas season. The Christmas Hope campaign has launched an initiative to collect gift cards throughout the month of July. While this year’s campaign hasn’t officially launched, the organizations say it’s never too early to start planning and collecting items for those in need. Last year’s campaign helped 8,800 people, with this year’s demand expected to be higher. Gift cards for groceries, toys and entertainment experiences are being collected by the organizations. “We have seen families continue to struggle, specifically with food security and anything that is an extra at this moment in time,” said Danielle McIntyre, Interfaith Food Bank executive director. “So, by getting an early start, we’re hoping to get all the supplies and tools we need in order to serve our families again this year.” “So far, we have definitely seen the need increasing throughout the year, this year more so than last year,” said Tanya Lister, MyCityCare site director. “Our stats on the first half of the year already are significantly higher for clothing, food, hygiene and just supports in general than we saw in the first half of last year.” The Christmas Hope campaign consists of the Interfaith Food Bank, Lethbridge Food Bank, MyCityCare, Lethbridge Family Services, the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization, the Salvation Army and Volunteer Lethbridge. The organizations share resources and data to ensure everyone’s needs are met. Their latest holiday-season campaign assisted 8,800 people, including 5,300 children and teenagers, 3,500 adults and 207 seniors. The holiday campaign saw close to 1,400 people volunteer. They spent 11,000 hours giving back to the community in the month of December.
