Christmas Fund

Donate at timescolonist.com/donate Another day, another match challenge, but we’ll get to that. The Times Colonist Christmas Fund reached $287,500 on Thursday, 41 per cent of the way to our $700,000 target.

Though the pandemic has meant many changes this holiday season, Lorna Ruttan is sticking to one longstanding tradition: donating toys to local children in need via the Mustard Seed.

Two weeks after the launch of the 2020 edition of the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, we have reached a major milestone: $262,200 raised, the first time we have passed a quarter of a million dollars before the end of November.

Two donations matched. Four cheques, $10,000 each. And this morning, the Times Colonist Christmas Fund stands just shy of $231,000, less than two weeks after we launched the 2020 drive. Thank you, thank you.

After a remarkable Sunday, the Times Colonist Christmas Fund is at $157,000, well on our way to our 2020 target of $700,000. Our readers responded to two match challenges from Andrew Beckerman.

The Times Colonist Christmas Fund reached $103,000 on Thursday, one week after the 2020 fundraiser was launched. This is the ­strongest start to the fund in its 65-year history. The need this year is unprecedented.

Freyja Zazu drew inspiration from Dr. Bonnie Henry when she designed her “Mask Up! Crush the Wave” flag.

We have another match ­challenge, and it is a big one. The Times Colonist Christmas Fund is raising money for people in need, and people who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Santa Claus will still be ­coming to town for families in need, thanks to the Salvation Army’s annual toy store.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. There has never been a Times Colonist Christmas Fund drive like the one just ended — and that is significant, because we have been raising money every year since 1956.