Surrey Christmas Bureau is struggling to keep up with the demand as dozens of families daily stream through its Toy Depot in Whalley.
Donations are needed now to fill shelves, especially gifts for teens — things like clothing, makeup, hair products, games and sports equipment.
"We stock the shelves in the morning and it's all gone pretty much by the end of the day, shelves cleared," said Karmin Dhindsa, program co-ordinator.
"We have 60 families a day coming in right now, and next week we bump that up to 80 (a day), and we still have the rest of the season to go," Dhindsa added. "We need to stagger those arrivals. We have 25 calendar days to get them in, and families have a set time, five-minute increments. We can do max 80 (families) a day, no more."
This year the Christmas Bureau already has more than 2,000 families registered for assistance, with a couple hundred more expected before the Dec. 1 registration deadline.
"Last year we had around 1,990 families, so the number is up quite a bit," Dhindsa noted.
"For donations, the urgency is now," she added. "It is hard because people usually get into the Christmas spirit mid-month, well into December, but we've had families come to our Toy Depot for two full weeks already. We're relying on some stock from last year."
This year the charitable organization’s Toy Depot returned to the former Canadian Tire building in Whalley (13665 102 Ave.), thanks to another donation of retail space by Anthem Properties, developers of the adjacent Georgetown project.
Last year, Surrey Christmas Bureau set records by giving gifts to 5,143 children and $262,080 in grocery vouchers to families in need, the equivalent of more than 24,570 meals.
Families can register for help online (christmasbureau.com), or call 604-581-9623 to get the process started.
Dhindsa, started on the job in September, said the charitable organization aims to help families who really need it, including those in the Adopt-A-Family program.
"We have thresholds, so when someone applies for help, there's transparency in the process," she explained. "We do look at financials, bank statements, we're quite rigorous with that to screen people who seek help. But we have only so many resources and we (vet) as much as we can."
Penny Priddy, retired politician in Surrey, is vice-chair of Surrey Christmas Bureau.
"It's always important to remember how quickly economic circumstances can change for a family in this day and age, job loss or no income all of a sudden," Priddy said. "It's really hard to judge people by what you see on a wish list. We don't know their story. Those are wishes, and hopefully we can make those wishes come true."
Close to 200 people volunteer at the Christmas Bureau, with drop-in help welcomed.
"Mostly I come in and make sure that the volunteers are thanked, because it's so important," Priddy said. "If you volunteer, somebody needs to say thank-you to you and let the volunteer know how valuable the work is. I say to volunteers, if you weren't here, these kids wouldn't get toys. These volunteers make Christmas happen for a whole lot of Surrey kids, it's amazing."
