In the Community

For 20 years, the 10th Coquitlam Scouts group has been helping vulnerable families in the Tri-Cities have a good Christmas and this year is no exception.

Canadian Blood Services ( CBS ) and Food Banks British Columbia want people to donate blood and food this month.

Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association ( GVHBA ) will soon wrap up its 16th annual Coats for Kids campaign in support of the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau, a group whose outreach helps to provide a brighter Christmas for families in need.

Meaningful Volunteer sent Tri-City News reporter Gary McKenna a thank-you email - and the two photos on the left - for stories he has done on the charity's fundraising efforts in the Tri-Cities to help people in Uganda.

Are you a newcomer to Canada? Are you interested in connecting your skills to the Canadian workplace? Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSBC) and Port Coquitlam's Terry Fox Library are hosting a session next Tuesday on Skills Connect for Immigrants.

TODAY: Friday, Dec. 2 FOR THE LOVE OF CRAFTS Think local, think handmade, and check out the 31st annual Coquitlam Christmas Craft Sale running from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 624 Poirier St.

You can lace up your runners Sunday to support Share Family and Community Services' Christmas program. On Dec. 4, the first annual Jingle Bell Jog, a family run, will take place at Coquitlam Centre mall.

The sound of wheels crunching on gravel can be heard above the thunder of a swollen Mossom Creek as the yellow school bus makes its way up a hill, through a kilometre of forest, to a little clearing in the trees above Ioco Road in Port Moody.

A Christmas market for a cause is set for Saturday in the River Springs sub-division. The market, running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 3 at the River Springs rec centre, will support the Gaby Davis Foundation.

There are just a few weeks left to collect food for food hampers to be delivered to 1,800 families in the Tri-Cities in time for Christmas. Share Family and Community Services expects to provide food and toys to more than 2,200 children.