Above: Members of L’Arche Saint John and L’Arche Fredericton gather around the tree at Government House with Her Honour Brenda Murphy, Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Decorating the tree at Government House has become a beloved holiday tradition for our community. Whether through financial gifts, invitations to holiday festivities or the spirit of friendship, it has been a beautiful season of generosity.
Generosity inspires generosity — especially during the holiday season.
At L’Arche, we’ve had the privilege of witnessing this beautiful phenomenon in many forms over the past several weeks, as the spirit of giving has filled our community. Whether through acts of kindness, shared moments of joy, or generous contributions, the holiday season has reminded us all of the power of giving.
It started with GivingTuesday, a global day of giving back following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Over the years, it’s grown to become a critical day of online fundraising for L’Arche Saint John.
Leading up to the big day on Dec. 3, we received word that Murphy Restaurants Ltd was stepping up to support L’Arche on GivingTuesday as a matching donor up to $10,000 – a remarkable act of solidarity and generosity.
That matching donation inspired so many others – including many of you reading this! – to give generously. At around the halfway mark to our goal, I got a call from an anonymous donor who wanted to give $5,000 to ensure we succeeded in securing the full matching gift.
By noon on GivingTuesday, we had already met our fundraising target of $20,000 with the matching donation. But that didn’t stop others’ generosity, still, from pouring in. In total, we raised just under $29,000 for L’Arche Saint John.
I still find myself having to pick my jaw up from off the floor. It was a remarkable day of generosity, and getting to witness the power of community support in real-time. Knowing there are so many important and worthy causes to give to – especially in times like ours today – I am so grateful for the support shown to our community of people with and without intellectual disabilities, some of whom don’t have a family to go home to for the holidays.
But the generosity L’Arche has received extends far beyond financial gifts – it has been an extraordinary season of generosity of the spirit, and in friendship.
I think of the team at McKenna Group of ScotiaWealth, who invited Creative Connections members to a holiday party at their office. Or Irving Oil extending the invite again this year to participate in their holiday craft sale on Dec. 3 & 4.
Or one of our favourite annual traditions at the invitation of the Lieutenant Governor: ornament-making and tree decorating at Government House in Fredericton, N.B., alongside members of L’Arche Fredericton.
Meanwhile, our annual holiday singalong drew a crowd of 50 at the Saint John Arts Centre, and holiday parties and secret Santa gift exchanges abound among our members and programs.
If you are still reading this, know that you, too, have gifted L’Arche the generosity of your time and attention. In a world (and season) of busyness, distraction and overwhelm, your investment in L’Arche does not go unnoticed.
Thank you for your generosity, whether in financial gifts, friendship, or singing the alto line at our holiday singalong.
Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and merry holiday season,
Rachel Vander Vennen
Community Leader & Executive Director