“It came without ribbons, it came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags.” And he puzzled and puzzled ‘till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more…”
Christmas with greengate Garden Centres always means just a little bit more. While each year greengate outdoes themselves with magazine worthy pre-decorated Christmas Trees, fresh cider daily for their guests and Christmas gift options for every age, they have never forgotten what Christmas is truly about: caring for our fellow Calgarians.
Each year for the past fourteen years, greengate Garden Centres and its owners, the Telford family, have helped Calgarians experiencing homelessness with their “Help the Homeless this Holiday” Campaign. In addition to collecting monetary donations, greengate also serves as a drop-off location for items such as gently used winter wear, recreational activity passes, Calgary Transit bus passes, gifts cards to grocery stores, Tim Hortons gift cards and toiletries.
“As a family, we have been very fortunate and it has always been important to us to give to the less fortunate families and kids in our community,” says Harrington Telford, one of the owners of greengate Garden Centres. “We also believe it’s important for us to encourage others to give as well which is why we collect donations every year. We love doing it because it makes us feel good.”
The impact of their time and donations is incredible. More than 3 truckloads of clothing, winter jackets and blankets were delivered to agencies, through the Calgary Homeless Foundation, before Christmas last year. Another large load of toiletries, transit passes, gift cards and children’s activity passes were shared amongst the agencies who serve Calgary’s most vulnerable. This year, they hope to be able to give even more.
“We know times are really tough in our community, especially for people who have no place to call home and no shelter during our cold Calgary winters. This is why we have always held our biggest charity campaign over the Christmas season,” shares Harrington. “We are aware of how much the Calgary Homeless Foundation has helped citizens in Calgary through their support of charities that help the homeless and we are very proud to be associated with an organization that does such a great job.”
To learn more about greengate Garden Centres visit www.greengate.ca.
