New Westminster firefighters recently played Santa to two local groups helping those in need.
Each year, the New Westminster Firefighters Charitable Society donates goods to an organization around town that helps the needy. This year, they went a step further.
“We had 35 of our members donated $50 each,” said firefighter Kathy Ius. “Eight of us donated some of our time and did a Christmas shop.”
The firefighters split into two groups and headed to Thrifty Foods in Sapperton and Wal-Mart in Queensborough.
“We picked up a whole whack of groceries, warm blankets and toques,” Ius said. “We divvied up what we bought between the Union Gospel Mission and the Salvation Army.”
In addition to the $1,750 in contributions from individual firefighters, the New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society donated $1,000.
“We ended up spending about $2,900 in total,” Ius said. “Some of the stores also kicked in some extras. They added more products.”
So long, farewell
The Hyack Festival Association followed up its appearance in the recent Santa Claus parade with a song in council chambers.
Gavin Palmer, president of the Hyack Festival Association, appeared before council Dec. 9 to introduce 2013 Miss New Westminster Amanda Zacharuk 2013 and ambassadors Cynthia Tan and Carli Henssler, whose reign will soon end. The association is set to begin considering applications for the 2014 Miss New Westminster Ambassadors.
Zacharuk said it’s been anto represent the association and the city at events throughout the Pacific Northwest this year.
“It’s been a program that been going for so many years,” said Coun. Betty McIntosh. “You can see the value of the program.”
With the ambassador’s reign coming to an end, they performed a dance for council, lip-synching to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You.
A couple of days after the presentation to city council, the association announced it is changing its name to Festivals New West.
Cultural mapping
Time is running out to take part in a project that will help map the city’s cultural offerings.
The City of New Westminster, the Arts Council of New Westminster and Douglas College are working together to map the cultural assets in the city and put them on an interactive map that will appear on the city’s website. The map aims to promote culture, networking opportunities and cultural tourism.
As part of the process, community members are invited to help build the map of the city’s cultural assets by taking part in a survey. The survey, which is open until Dec. 31, can be found at www.hjlinnen.com/survey.
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