The 2023 Gift Wrap season is now complete and a huge thank you to everyone who made this fundraiser a success. Sevenoaks Shopping Centre has hosted this fundraiser for Archway for several years and has been an amazing partner throughout. Their ongoing support with marketing and signage, space to operate, as well as program operating supplies has enabled the Gift Wrap Booth to thrive.
This year, the fundraiser was supported by more than 50 volunteers and brought in just over $5100 in proceeds which will support newcomers. These funds will be used to provide special events and field trips for newcomer adults and youth, providing new and meaningful experiences that the newcomer participants would otherwise not have available to them.
We are equally grateful for the support of the community members who collectively volunteered over 400 hours throughout the month of December. Many newcomers volunteered in this fundraiser to contribute to Archway and their new community while gaining valuable workplace culture and customer service experience.
An added value of the fundraiser has been the mutual exchange between newcomer volunteers, particularly the youth and young adults, and long-time community members, as they share in the experience of contributing to their community, develop their social networks, and foster resiliency as well as a sense of belonging through their volunteer work.
We are very grateful for the community of Abbotsford and in addition to thanking Sevenoaks and our volunteer base, we also want to acknowledge the community members who provided support as patrons of the Gift Wrap Booth.
To learn more about services offered to newcomers, please visit Community Connections and Immigrant Youth Services or contact Elise Marier, Community Connections Supervisor at 604-217-2299 or Elise.Marier@Archway.ca.
