With Christmas less than four weeks away, it becomes the spirit of giving to those who have had a tough break in life in the Northwest, and CFTK-TV alongside Bounce Radio and Pure Country are working with the local Salvation Army on the annual Henny's Sharing Tree Donation event. Henny Ebling was once an employee for Pure Country and Bounce Radio and was the mastermind in starting up this initiative.
“Almost 50 years ago, she started the sharing tree campaign to help the less fortunate in our community because there was a need,” said Steve Pereira, CFTK’s TV operations manager. “And after she passed away we rebranded the sharing tree to name it after her and her legacy.”
Additionally, the Terrace Salvation Army's Corps Officer Pastor stopped by to explain how you can help.
“This year, we are having set locations around Terrace where community members can drop off brand new toys unwrapped to help out the salvation army with our Christmas hamper campaign” said Sabrina Silvey.
Silvey also elaborated that all of the donations will go to the less fortunate while also listing some donation ideas for anyone that was in need of suggestions.
“Toys are a great option, we are trying to hand out toys from ages 0 to 10 and then for ages 11 to 17, we hand out gift cards.”
It comes at a time where Silvey has seen an increase in need in the last five years, here in the Terrace community. According to Statistics Canada, 1 in 10 Canadians live below the poverty line, with that number expected to increase into 2025.
“We are seeing a greater need this year, people are just having a really hard time with their basic needs,” she said. “They’re having trouble paying rent, mortgage, gas, hydro etc. And then to have to buy groceries on top of that, it’s a challenge this year. In the past five years, we’ve been needing to continuously support community members.”
“The need is great,” said Pereira. “Especially with winter and the cold months, it seems as if this is just an ongoing issue. There’s people that are in need and our station can play a small role in helping them.”
Those who wish to donate can drop their items off at our CFTK-TV Office, Western Financial Group as well as StraightLine GM, RV, and Honda in Terrace while locations in other communities like Smithers, Kitimat, Houston and Prince Rupert can be found on our website.
Donations will be accepted until December 15th, after which the Salvation Army will gather up everything and then hand it all out as part of their own annual Christmas Hamper drive.
