Vancouver’s Suhaila Hamed has been volunteering at The Salvation Army so much that her seven-year-old daughter thinks she’s “working for Santa.” “She thinks I’m an elf,” Hamed said with a laugh.The 41-year-old mother of three is a regular volunteer at the charity’s Vancouver Community and Family Services — one of 27 community organizations sponsored by  […]

Trang Le knew she didn’t want to raise her children in Vietnam.“It’s just dangerous and it’s tough there,” said the 31-year-old, who moved back to Vancouver with her three-year-old son Alex in September.After living in B.C. for nearly 10 years, she returned home to Southeast Asia in 2010, where she got married and delivered her  […]

When Nelson mom Nichole Hunt “very suddenly” split from her partner last year, she knew it wouldn’t be much of a Christmas for her young son.A few months after the devastating break-up in July 2014, she decided to move from Trail back to Nelson to be closer to friends and family.While the big move cut  […]

For the past 21 years Stephen Trickett has been delivering toys, food and other donations to families in need across the Lower Mainland. While he sounds a lot like one of Santa’s helpers, he’s actually helping struggling families year-round as a driver for the Salvation Army in Vancouver — one of 27 community organizations that  […]

Asking for help was one of the hardest things Kelly Jane Hanvey had to do, but when the Victoria mom was down to her last $20 and Christmas was coming, she had no choice but to reach out.“It was the most humbling experience of my life, because I had never needed to ask for anything,”  […]