Sikh congregations contribute to holiday campaign

Nicolas Carpentier

December, 2009

Sun Youth launched its Annual Holiday Campaign October 28. This year, the goal will be to feed some 18,000 people for the holidays and to provide 10,000 new toys for children under 13. To accomplish this mission, Sun Youth is relying on the generosity of individuals, companies, and foundations.

For this Holiday season, Sun Youth received a generous boost from the Montreal Sikh community. Every year, this community supports various charities to underline the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, founder of the Sikh faith. This year marks the 540th anniversary of his birth. Guru Nanak taught that people should share with and help those in need. This is one of the three basic principles of Sikhism.

Two congregations decided to lend a hand to Sun Youth and offered us their support through various initiatives. On November 8, members of the Gurudwara Sahib Quebec congregation in Petite Patrie / Little Burgundy welcomed Sun Youth representatives to their celebration of Guru Nanak’s birthday. This marked the 23rd consecutive year that this congregation donated to Sun Youth. They presented Sun Youth with 200 $10 food vouchers that will be distributed to victims of fire assisted by the organization over the Holiday period. In December 2008, Sun Youth assisted 39 families that were victims of a fire.

The West-Island Sikh Community (Guruwara Sahib Greater Montreal) presenting their generous contribution to the Sun Youth Holiday Basket Campaign. Photo: Nicolas Carpentier

The following weekend, the Montreal West-Island Sikh community also commemorated the birth of Guru Nanak at a special in their temple: Gurudwara Sahib Greater Montreal in Dollard-Des-Ormeaux. On this occasion, the members of this temple donated 10,000 food items to Sun Youth as part of our annual campaign to help 18,000 people during this Holiday period.

This temple was founded in 1999 and counts a growing community of a few thousand members. We wish to thank the members of the Montreal Sikh Community for their renewed support this year. Together, we are confident that we will reach our goal in helping those who need it most.

There was also a lot of giving going on at Sun Youth on November 26. The CHOM and CJAD radio stations were doing the annual live broadcast of their shows from outside our St.Urbain headquarters. From 5:30 am to 8 pm, listeners were invited to drop by with a food or cash donation. Dr. Alain Leduc from Centre Dentaire Paris Loft, 83 Rachel St. E came by early to bring the annual contribution from the centre as part of their commitment to give a percentage of their profits to Sun Youth. The doctor came in with a $10,000 cheque to purchase milk and eggs for our emergency food bank.

The street collection was very successful and brought in $10,157 for a total of $20,157. We would like to thank Dr. Leduc, everyone at CHOM and CJAD, as well as their station’s listeners for their support this year. From all of us at Sun Youth, happy holidays to Senior Times readers.