VANCOUVER FIREFIGHTER CHARITIES GEARS UP FOR RETURN
OF ANNUAL UMBRELLA DAY EVENT ON FRIDAY, NOV. 6TH
Ninth Annual City-Wide Umbrella Sale Raises Awareness of,
Critical Funds for VFC’s Charitable Community Programs
Vancouver Firefighter Charities (VFC) will once again welcome the rainy season and raise much-needed funds for its charitable outreach programs by hosting its annual Umbrella Day fundraiser at three transit hubs across the city on Friday, November 6th.
The ninth annual event takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will see firefighters volunteer time to sell VFC-branded umbrellas for $30 to pedestrians and commuters and also collect donations via cash and card at City Centre Station (Granville & Georgia), Yaletown Roundhouse (Davie & Mainland) and City Hall Station (Cambie and Broadway).
Last year’s event raised more than $10,000 for VFC community programs that include Snacks For Kids, Toys For Kids, and Sports For Kids. All three programs are supported entirely through firefighter payroll and community and corporate donations as well as fundraising events like Umbrella Day that are hosted by the VFC throughout the year.
Snacks For Kids provides food donations to food-insecure students at more than 100 schools across Vancouver, Toys For Kids ensures that local children have toys to open underneath their tree for Christmas, no matter their family’s socio-economic status, and Sports For Kids builds physical literacy for children and youth through volunteer-led programs and events.
The VFC and its team of volunteers are setting an even loftier goal this year of raising $15,000 in donations, says VFC Executive Director Eric Himmelman, and are hoping to get as many people as possible to stop by, chip in and help lend a hand to the many causes that the fundraiser supports.
“This event is a way of preparing for the rainy season in Vancouver and also popping some umbrellas to help the VFC shield local kids and families from those grey days by raising funds for programs that do so much to brighten spirits for our community at large,” he adds.
This year the VFC’s three Umbrella Day locations will be sponsored by Canadian corporate law firm Cassels at Granville and Georgia, Vancouver-based real estate builders PC Urban at Cambie and Broadway and McDonald’s Canada at Yaletown Roundhouse.
The VFC recently launched its 40th annual Hall of Flame Calendar — the longest running firefighters calendar in the world — that also raises funds for the VFC’s three charitable programs in addition to its Safety for Seniors program that benefits at-risk seniors in communities and the BC Professional Firefighters Burn Fund.
To learn more about VFC’s Umbrella Day and other fundraising events and initiatives that benefit the community at large, go to vancouverfirefighters.ca.
ABOUT VANCOUVER FIREFIGHTER CHARITIES
Vancouver Firefighter Charities is how firefighters help people when they’re not at the firehall. Firefighters raise funds, then build programs to help in-need and at-risk people of all ages directly, with all programs and fundraisers managed by off-duty Vancouver firefighters who give their personal time and donate funds directly to VFC through voluntary payroll donations. In 2018 the Vancouver Firefighters’ Payroll Donation program raised more than $140,000 for charitable programs like the Snacks For Kids Nutritional Program that ensured 300,000 food donations were made to almost 1,600 at-risk youth in 40 Vancouver schools. VFC has other programs including the BC Burn Fund, Sports For Kids and Lifelines For Seniors and supports and partners with a multitude of charitable organizations and causes throughout the Lower Mainland and beyond.
