By Joe Johnson (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: December 7, 2011
The holiday season should be a time of cheer and goodwill for everybody, but for many it can prove to create hardships. Fortunately, it’s also the time of year where people begin to think about those that are in need. So once again, UFV’s Student Life department is fast in the swing of things with its annual Angel Tree program to give a hand to those in need.
Lead by Elicia Tournier, a Student Life program assistant, Angel Tree is a program designed to help support those in our student body who are facing challenges in providing a Christmas for their families while also going to school.
Any student who feels they could use help can complete an application for their children to be included. Applicants are supposed to name the Christmas wishes of their kids, or “angels.” From here, the angels and their Christmas wishes are tagged on Christmas Trees at both the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses. Anybody at UFV – employees and students – can “adopt” an angel and buy his or her Christmas presents.
Susan Francis, Acting Manager for Student Life, explained, “The program enables students to have Christmas gifts for their children to open on Christmas morning who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.” For a Christmas supper, the angel families are also presented with gift certificates.
As of last week, the number of students who had applied to the program was 49, with 112 children in total. Of that, 26 students were from Abbotsford and had a total of 51 children, and 23 students were from Chilliwack with a combined 61 children.
There was an interesting show of support for Angel Tree at the Student Services Christmas party this year. If they could provide it and wanted to take part, employees received a name of another employee who they would then buy a present for – the interesting part being that this particular present was to be a toy that reminded them of the other employee for some reason or another. Accompanying the toy was a note describing why the toy represents the other employee. Of course, these toys are now going to be going to the Angel Tree angels.
Donations of a financial nature are also welcomed. In fact, the Development office at UFV is matching all donations, dollar for dollar. This is one great way to increase the impact of your support.
Creativity even comes into play during gift giving. As Francis recalled, “One truly heart-warming story this year includes a student and her family adopting an angel of a three-year-old girl who adores princesses, especially Cinderella.” This particular student, along with her family, made a Cinderella dress along with the gloves for the little girl.
This week marks two Student Life Angel Tree parties. The first was already held at the Abbotsford campus on December 6. However, the other one is still upcoming, to be held on December 8 at the Chilliwack campus. It will run from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., and the angel families are invited to “enjoy a Christmas party that includes elves, goodies, crafts and fun,” according to Francis.
