Holiday tradition wraps up at retail hub
The long-running gift-wrapping fundraiser for the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation at the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping centre has come to an end.
Cadillac Fairview Corp. has opted to operate its own Gift Wrap Valet at its 19 shopping centres this December, with 20 per cent of wrapping fees collected nationally being donated to WE Canada. As well, 100 per cent of funds raised through an optional $2 gift tag will also be given to WE Canada, a non-profit organization founded by Craig and Mark Kielburger. Fairview’s wrapping fees are $3, $5 or $7, depending on the size of the gift.
Laurent Bruneau, manager of Fairview Pointe-Claire, said it was a company decision to run its own gift-wrapping service at all of its malls with a portion of proceeds going to the non profit which focuses on empowering children.
“They wanted to streamline their efforts to one charity,” he said. The 19 CF malls had regional charitable partnerships for holiday gift-wrapping before this year’s shift in focus.
Between 1996 and 2017, volunteers for the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation ran December gift-wrapping kiosks at Fairview Pointe-Claire, considered the hub of retail activity in the West Island.
“The gift-wrapping campaign usually raised around $26,000 per year,” noted LGHF spokeswoman Yvonne Falaise. “Cadillac Fairview has been a very generous partner, and we are very grateful for well over 30 years of support in various fundraising events. We are also thankful for the dedication, and enthusiasm all the volunteers have shown for the gift-wrapping fundraiser.”
It was Beaconsfield resident Alexander Cross who contacted the West Island Gazette about the change. He said he was shocked to find out during a recent shopping spree that the LGHF wrappers were no longer at Fairview. He had relied heavily on the volunteer-driven LGHF gift-wrapping over the years.
“With Lakeshore, 100 per cent went to charity,” Cross said. “This was a fundraiser thing (where) everybody won. You get your gift wrapped and they get their charitable donation.”
While the LGHF gift-wrapping fundraising at Fairview has unfortunately come to an end, West Islanders should note several other activities are held during the year in support of the Pointe-Claire hospital, including a golf tourney, a duck-fest and an annual ball.
On a bright side, there are new holiday charitable traditions to support.
Hockey West Island hosted its first annual Rivalry Day Battle Royale on Saturday. The non-perishable items collected at the Bob Birnie Arena will help stock the West-Island Mission’s food bank.
In Pierrefonds, the homebased “Lights On Boischatel” Christmas display (which is synchronized to music) held a special fundraising night for West Island Citizen Advocacy for the first time this past Saturday. The Christmas-light display continues to raise funds for the rest of the month for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation’s respite centre.