Donations to Christmas Fund climb in 2020

When we launched the 2020 edition of the Montreal Gazette Christmas Fund last November, we were apprehensive. At best.

We were deep into the second wave of the pandemic, and like so many others, we were being disrupted.

Normally we receive about 50 per cent of Christmas Fund donations by cheque. But we are all working from home, and no one would be able to go in to the office regularly to process cheques.

So we had to tell thousands of Montrealers who contribute by cheque every year that they would need to contribute online instead.

Our expectation: there would be a steep drop in contributions.

Never underestimate Montrealers.

I am happy and grateful to report that donations to the Christmas Fund actually went up this year from the previous year's total.

We received $855,751 in donations in 2020, an increase of 10.7 per cent compared with the $772,965 donated in 2019.

That allowed us to distribute 6,500 $125 cheques to Montreal families in December, thanks to our partner agencies. It could not have come at a better time, those partner agencies told us.

Here are the words of Christine Richardson, co-director of Jeunesse Loyola, which works with N.D.G. youth living in poverty.

“I have come to know these families well over the course of the year and I can tell you that these gifts mean the world to them,” she wrote.

“Many of these families have been particularly hard hit over the last several months and this gives them a bit of space to breathe and brings some joy over the holidays.”

Of course, that would not have been possible without your help.

We are thankful to all our donors, from the individual who gave us $2 to the incredible team at Inflight Canada, which contributed $15,000. (Bless you guys — your annual donation is an inspiration to us.)

Thanks also to Aaron Rand, who, for the second year in a row, donated $8,655 from the proceeds of satirical T-shirt sales. (Bonjour-hi and a thumbs-up to you too, Aaron.)

Most of all, thanks to those of you who dug even deeper than usual to help those less fortunate at a dark and frightening time.

Let's do this again next year.