At HIV Community Link, we know the holiday season can be a stressful time for many. It can be even more difficult for a lot of our clients, many of whom experience loneliness and feel isolated this time of the year. One of the ways we hope to brighten the holidays is by gifting our clients with festive holiday hampers.

Every December we give out over 140 holiday hampers consisting of a gift card and a small gift. These hampers are valued at $125 each and really help to take away a lot of the stress our clients are feeling. These gifts not only provide the ability to purchase everything their recipient needs for a healthy holiday meal but, for many, this might be the only gift they receive this time of year.

Our holiday hampers are so important to our clients, and it’s one of our favourite things to be a part of. You can truly see the joy on a recipient’s face when they receive their gift.

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the lives of our clients, the holiday hampers are a part of our larger nutrition program. Every second Friday of the month clients come together to be among peers in a safe space and enjoy a home cooked meal prepared by our volunteers. We also offer coffee connections and the client’s favourite, cooking with Coral. All the money raised this holiday season will go towards the holiday hampers and the larger nutrition program so we can continue to offer these social events to our clients, helping to diminish a lot of the isolation our clients feel.

We wouldn’t be able to brighten the holidays without the gracious support from our donors. We urge you to consider donating to us this holiday season so we can continue enhancing the lives of Calgarians living with HIV.

Please visit http://www.hivcl.org/news-events/holidayhamper/ to donate or for more information please visit http://www.hivcl.org or email us at info@hivcl.org.

From all of us at HIV Community Link, we wish you a wonderful holiday season!