Cheer supports local parents

It's the second year in a row that the Christmas Cheer campaign will support the BGCK Journey Fund, created to provide free counselling to parents navigating difficult circumstances.

Donations made to the Christmas Cheer Fund this holiday season will allow more families to access the service and heal intergenerational trauma. Fifteen families have now benefited from the fund administered by BGC Kamloops, with referrals growing steadily.

One of those beneficiaries is Jessie.

"The assistance this organization has had readily available and the amount of heartfelt effort these people have provided myself and my children has enabled us to grow in ways we could have only imagined were possible," she said.

Jessie's story was shared during the third annual A Toast To You Gala on Oct. 26, the primary fundraiser for the Journey Fund. This year's event met its target of 200 tickets sold, with some sponsors even stepping forward to offer their services to Journey Fund families.

"I am proof that the Journey Fund creates and provides life-changing amounts of development in a family unit," Jessie said. "These skills and advancements go beyond the person served, because they acquire the skills needed to be healthy enough to help others as well."

Susie McCabe, one of the clinical counsellors who helped create the Journey Fund three years ago, said accessible programs for parents are few and far between.

The biggest challenge, she said, has been educating the community on the importance of such a program and the existing gap in services.

"Adverse childhood experiences plague people over a lifetime and it puts people at a disadvantage for parenting, for maintaining jobs, for maintaining housing," McCabe said.

"The health of our community comes from helping families, one parent at a time."

Check back on Castanet Kamloops each Thursday until Christmas for feature stories about the charities supported by the BC Interior Community Foundation's annual Cheer fund, along with some of the unique donors.

BCICF will have a pop-up booth set up at Gold Leaf Pastries in Dufferin from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Thursday to provide information about the Cheer fund and accept donations. A booth will also be set up at the Indoor Farmers Market on Saturday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To donate online, click here.

Cash, cheque, credit and debit card donations can be made in person at the BC Interior Community Foundation, 2-219 Victoria St. (open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday). Cash or cheque donations can also be dropped off at Castanet Kamloops, 102-635 Victoria St. (open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday).

As of Nov. 8, this year's donors include: