Press Release
Dec 25, 2021
Lotus Light Partners with Project Hastings High School Students Distributes Winter Garments and Food to Street Homeless on Christmas Eve
Environment Canada has issued a warning for Metro Vancouver that states that arctic winds will produce wind chill values below minus 20 in December 2021. While the Vancouverites are enjoying their warm house cozy house and preparing for the Christmas holiday, volunteers of Lotus Light Charity Society partnered with young high school students of Project Hastings to hand out care items to the street homeless.
On Christmas Eve, Friday Dec 24, Lotus Light volunteer and Project Hastings students heading on the street to distribute Starbucks Hot Chocolate (sponsored by Starbucks International Village), care packages with glove, socks, scarf, hat, poncho, peanut butter sandwiches, fruit and snacks to street homeless. Young Student of Project Hastings, is a student-led non-profit organization, has participated many Lotus Light organized events this year, including Lotus Light Community Caring Day and the Annual Winter Charity Drive 2021.
Highlights of Lotus Light Charity Society Community and Charitable Activities 2021
For the past 28 years, Lotus Light Charity Society Vancouver has held numerous projects to benefit local communities:
- The Lotus Light Covid-19 Community Caring Drive, organized and partnered up with local food warehouse, food manufacturers, food distribution hubs and assistance groups, distributed a total of 370,000 lbs of food to marginalized and low-income groups including single parent families, seniors, migrant workers, new immigrants, refugee and those affected by the pandemic in lower mainland and Fraser Valley.
- The Lotus Light PPE and Hand Sanitizer Drive has distributed 150,000 free masks to local community and 1,250,000 lbs of hand sanitizers / disinfectant wipes to the less fortunate in communities across British Columbia, Ontario and to underdeveloped countries abroad.
- The Lotus Light Annual Winter Charity Drive, now celebrating its 26th year, collaborating with community partners Vancouver Police Department Homeless Outreach program, BC Ambulance Services and Temporary Winter Shelters of City of Vancouver has distributed over 400,000 (Valued at $1,000,000) winter garments, food and toiletries to street homeless and low-income individuals in our Lower Mainland.
- Annual Rice Donation Program contributed over 350,000 pounds of rice to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and other organizations. 15,000 lbs of rice has been donated to the food bank and other community organization in 2021.
- LLCS Annual Community Caring Day: Providing free lunch, clothes, gifts and food in a day of annual community caring. The 5th annual event distributed 100,000 gift items and benefited nearly 1,000 vulnerable members in the DTES in 2021.
- Lotus Light Emergency Kitchen, established to meet the increasing food demand of vulnerable groups in DTES community, has provided 15,000 free hot meals to the homeless and low-income seniors in the community since summer 2020.
- LLCS Food Recovery Program: Delivering tens thousands of pounds of food to inner-city school children, families, seniors and homeless each month in partnership with local food producers, distributors and community agencies. A total of 90,000 of pounds of food have been distributed to help people in need in 2021.
- Lotus Light Hamper Program for Inner-city Schools: has donated more than 1,700 hampers with fresh produce, fruit, rice, cans of pasta and tuna, breakfast cereal cups, chocolate, and cookies, personal hygiene items, soap, detergents, toothpaste, masks and stationery, to support student assistance program to help students from low income families. During the Christmas the program is expanded to Children Assistance Plan (CAP).
- With the support of Emergency Community Support Fund, the Lotus Light Care, for single parent families and students from low-income families program have distributed over $7,600 value of grocery gift cards, benefited 150 families.
- LLCS National Scholarships and Mu-Shu Lee Memorial Scholarships have supported over 300 financially disadvantaged students who have achieved distinguished academic excellence and actively participated community volunteer works.
- LLCS Disaster Relief Responses, Lotus Light has been actively participating disaster relief efforts locally and internationally, donated disaster relief fund to Canadian Red Cross BC Flood and Extreme Weather Appeal to help thousands of residents displaced by winter storms, flooding and mudslides, and also donated over 50,000 lbs of personal protections gears (PPEs) to help wildfire destroyed northern BC town Lytton, and to help flooding disaster victims of central American country Guyana.
Lotus Light Charity Society would like to express our sincere thanks to our generous corporate and individuals sponsors for their financial supports and in-kind donations to all the LLCS Covid-19 relief programs. We would like to thank to the financial supports from United Way Lower Mainland Emergency Community Support Fund; Second Harvest Emergency Food Security Fund, City of Vancouver Homeless Action Week 2021; Community Grant from Wal-Mart Burnaby Supercentre; and thanks to corporate sponsors Thai United Food, Big K Clothing, Real Canadian Superstore, Ocean Brands, The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, Wholesale Club Burnaby, Second Harvest / FoodRescue.ca, FoodMesh.ca, Fresh Direct, Van-Whole, Save-On-Foods, CDS Warehouse, and other corporate sponsors for their supports. And thanks all volunteers and community partner organizations, community policing centers, neighbourhood houses, local food banks, food assistance groups and food distribution groups for their supports.
LLCS Covid-19 Community Caring Drive will continue partnering with generous corporates, food warehouses, local food assistance groups, food distribution hubs to distribute much needed food to help people in need in our community. For more information on various Lotus Light’s charity programs, please contact us by email:llcsvancouver@gmail.com, Tel: 604-685-5548, or visit lotus light website: http://vllcs.org. Lotus Light Charity Society registered number: BN 14110-4893-RR0001.