Montreal's 2,400 firefighters brought joy and comfort to 1,200 Montreal families this holiday season, as part of their 36th Christmas basket campaign
MONTREAL, Dec. 19, 2023 /CNW/ - In these times of spiraling inflation and thousands of new cases of needy families, it was in the spirit of sharing that Montreal's firefighters, retired firefighters, supported by numerous volunteers, delivered substantial food baskets and hundreds of gifts today, directly to 500 families with precarious economic status affected by deplorable episodes of poverty and indigence.
Deploring the obvious widening of the gaps between the better-off and the less well-off in our society, the Montreal firefighters have accelerated their traditional street collection, which will run until December 24, in order to maximize the campaign's capacity to relieve more families, if only temporarily, for whom access to a holiday season worthy of the name is often a pure utopia.
"In all, Montreal firefighters helped 1,200 families to enjoy a little holiday cheer," said Chris Ross, President of the Montreal Firefighters' Association, who was full of praise for the firefighters who, in 2022, raised a surplus of $428,000 from the street collection: this year, the money was used to put together hundreds of Christmas baskets for families who, in many new cases, had previously been living in normal comfort and relative safety. For the Association, the face of poverty changed radically in 2023 in Montreal under the pressure of inflation, the housing crisis and debt, which continue to wreak havoc on many families.
In all, since the Christmas hamper campaign began, 42,000 families with tens of thousands of children would otherwise have been deprived of a decent Christmas. "I'm very proud of the unconditional commitment of our union members, who have been fully involved since the very beginning of this great popular initiative, supported by a number of partner-sponsors without whom the campaign's success would not have the same scope," continued Mr. Ross.
Finally, Mr. Ross pointed out that this grassroots activity enables Montreal firefighters to demonstrate their sensitivity and solidarity towards the less fortunate members of society, who will be able to take part in the magic of Christmas under more or less normal conditions: a source of deep satisfaction, inspiration and reinforcement of their conviction that this occasional help unfortunately still has its place.
SOURCE Association des pompiers de Montréal
Source: Chris Ross, President; Contact: Alexandre Dumas, 514-898-4636 (cell), 514-843-1901 (direct line), [email protected]
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