A collaboration of thank you notes and letters

1. 2011
Angel Tree
A collaboration of thank you letters and notes.

2. "Remember that there is no happiness in
having or in getting, but only in giving.
Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is
a perfume you cannot pour on others
without getting a few drops on yourself."
— Og Mandino

3. With the help of the UFV community and local
businesses, we were able to provide gifts, food
hampers and gift cards to a total of 50
families, which included 116 children.

4. A generous donation from Save-On Foods made it possible to
provide each family with mandarin
oranges, apples, potatoes, carrots, peanuts, apple chips and
croutons!

5. Abbotsford Heat, Cottonwood 4 Cinemas & Hofstede’s Country Barn
graciously donated tickets and gift cards to each of the families.

6. President Mark Evered thought to be a Principal, Santa and even the Mayor
by some of the children. When told he was the President, the children did
not believe. “You don’t look like Obama!” exclaimed one child.

7. A few notes of thanks from our Angel Tree
families…

8. The holiday season was, for us, a very stressful one, as I was preparing to go to
Tanzania for a three-month internship. The gifts that you gave made the children
so happy, and gave us some much-needed time to connect before I had to leave
on the 30th of December.
Our daughter was thrilled with all the knitting and arts and crafts things that she
received. Our son was ecstatic that he could go shopping for his jeans somewhere
other than the Salvation Army. He was so happy, he even managed to get TWO
pairs of jeans with the gift you gave him. Of course, he's been strutting around
town with them ever since!
The food that you gave us was also super. I really appreciate that you provided
such healthy choices for our family. We thoroughly enjoyed the fresh fruits and
vegetables as well as being able to go shopping at Fraser Valley Meats and
Hofstede's. These are places that we normally can't afford to go shopping at, so
we splurged and got a few special things so we could have fun meals together
before I left. Your gifts at the holiday season helped make our holiday together
brighter.
Thank you for your gifts to our family this holiday season.

9. I just wanted to write a quick note to say thank
you for the wonderful present for my
daughter, food hamper and gift cards. With the
help of UFV I was able to make Christmas a
little more special for my little girl and I
wouldn't have been able to do it without
you, so thanks again for all you do to make a
student and family feel special!! :)

10. I would like to say Thank you for the lovely gifts, we got from you. I
wish I could show you the joy of my kids. They were so happy to have
the gifts that they did nothing on that day except playing with
them, even took them to their bed and slept with them.
They had been waiting for a long time to have a train, fire truck and a
police car. I must admit that it would have been very hard for me to
get any of those toys.
It was indeed very generous of you to give all of these gifts and make
their Christmas a nice, fun and a memorable one.
Once again I would like to say thank you and pray to God to keep you
and your family always happy and safe. May God reward you for all
this.

12. It was such an over whelming blessing to have
you be a part of our holiday season. I can`t
begin to explain what it meant to me this year.
My son loved all his gifts he received and
thanks to you we made an amazing Christmas
dinner.. Thank you so much for touching our
lives this past holiday. Without the Angel Tree
this past holiday would have been very
different. Thank you

13. My boys were beyond excited. It was great to
see the smiles on their faces. My oldest son got
a revolution dance pad which he hasn't stopped
playing with. I appreciate the generosity and
the support. It definitely help make my
Christmas a little less stressful and a little
extra special.
Thank you again & happy new year

14. Amazing, my boys were so excited when they
opened their gifts it was magical. Thank you for
all your time and efforts to make the season
special.

16. My grandson wears his hoodie he got from you.
And the movie tickets, he is waiting on the
right moment to use them, like a date;) and
the food for the holidays was an immense help
thank you soooo much. We were able to have a
gooood Christmas dinner.

17. My family has been going through some hard times financially and
emotionally. One of my children has severe autism. Because of his
disorder it is almost impossible to take him anywhere without him
having an "episode". He is only comfortable at home, where it is
familiar to him. So a lot of the time we miss out on visiting with family
during the holidays, which is unfair to my other children. But, because
of the support of Angel Tree program (food and gift cards) we were able
to invite some family members and friends over to celebrate Christmas
at our house. This made it a very special Christmas for my children.
On Christmas morning when the kids opened their gifts they were so
happy. My oldest son was especially happy as he had been asking for
that same toy for months and even sent a picture of it to Santa. Thank
you to everyone involved in the Angel tree program. My family really
appreciated your support.

18. Our children were very happy with their gifts
and would like to give thanks to all that gave so
that we could have a great Christmas we all
appreciate what you do I hope that this
program will be able to keep making family's
happy please keep the warmth of love flowing

19. Elf Institute Convocation

20. The UFV Angel Tree program made a significant difference for my children this
Christmas. They were not only appreciative of the gifts they received, but as a
family we were very grateful for the food, as well as the gift certificates for
groceries. December can be a very stressful period for our family, as funds can get
quite low and food can be limited. However, these gift certificates carried us
through with such basic foods as fresh fruits and vegetables which we may have
otherwise not been able to afford. The financial stress of being a single parent
while attending university can weigh heavily on me during the holiday season, but
these gifts really helped by showing support. It's nice to know that there are
people in the community who support individuals going through a post secondary
education who also have family to support.
The tickets for the Heat game on January 21 of this year was an added bonus
which my family could not have experienced without the generous support of the
sponsors. My three children enjoyed the game and want to make it a traditional
experience to attend, especially when I graduate and have an increase in my
recreational funds.
Thank you so much for putting the time together and working for such an amazing
cause.

21. Me and my kids want to thank you for all the
gifts they have received. They were very
happy, and they got everything they'd asked for
Thank you

22. If it was not for this donation my daughters and I would have had to go without for
Christmas.
I went to the Green Apple to buy my fruit and vegetables and it was a little funny
because they had whole pineapples like actual pineapples. The store owner was there
and I said in a low voice, wow I think I think to buy one of these pineapples, as my
daughters have never had a real pineapple before! The look he gave me, was more like
he thought I was a little strange but if he really only knew how much 4.00 could buy in
Mr. Noodles at .25 a piece and 1 pineapple for 4.00 you way your odds when you live on
next to no money.
Then I went to Save On Foods and was able to buy food and meat for us to have a
Christmas time. 50.00 in todays world may not seem like a lot but when you have
literately nothing it is a saving grace.
The Heat tickets were the best Christmas presents as my daughter invited a friend to
go with her and it was a win win situation because she got a present and was able to
share it with a friend :)
In that being said, thank you very much for donating the gift cards, game tickets, and
jeans. I appreciate it more than you will know. I am a struggling single mom and kids
and we went from having nothing to something.

24. To all the UFV Student Life staff, and the UFV community who have supported us through
the angel tree program, I offer a huge, heartfelt thank you!!!
Unexpected circumstances left my budget very tight right at Christmastime, and without
the angel tree program I don't know that there would have been any toys under the
tree, and our Christmas meal would have likely been a very simple carbohydrate based
meal. Your help got us through to my next student loan installment, and we were able to
enjoy a wonderful Christmas morning not only with the children and myself, but also
another UFV international student, who got to experience his first ever western
Christmas with us.
The children were thrilled with their gifts, and have been playing with them non-stop.
One of my girls received a home-made Cinderella dress, and I have a hard time
convincing her to wear anything else!
It's my hope that next year we will be on the other end of this tree, and will be able to
pass on this blessing to another family who finds themselves struggling.
Thank you so much

25. My son and I were very grateful that the Student Life department and the University of
the Fraser Valley were able to accommodate my needs as a student, and a single mother
in a time of need. I am sure you can imagine the look on my son's face when he opened
his red fire truck but can you imagine a 3 year old boy at his first live hockey game. I am
happy to report that the best part of the hamper was the Abbotsford Heat hockey tickets.
This was my son's first hockey game and the Heat won 5 to 2. This event was so much
fun. A family day much deserved.
The gift certificates for save on foods, the mad butcher and the produce are coming in
handy right about now as funds are low. Special thanks for the gingerbread house.
One of the major things that I am thankful for is that the Angel Tree Program was able to
accommodated my needs as I live out of the community. It was very helpful when the
financial aid department mailed me an application, that I was able to pick up the hamper
on my own time, and that I was sent e-mail reminders as this is a busy time of year.
Again thank you so much.

27. Thank you to Student Services!
The UFV Student Services department supported the Angel
Tree program through their Christmas party. Employees
that wanted to participate were given a name of another
employee to buy for. They then purchased a toy that
reminded them of that person and included a note
describing why the toy reminded them of this person. All
toys were then donated to the Angel Tree program.
We would love for other departments to support the Angel
Tree program in this creative way.

28. Vi and Nicole with the gifts from Student Services

29. Thank you to the Development Office!
All financial donations from UFV employees were matched
this year by UFV’s Development office.

30. To everyone who participated in the Angel
Tree 2011 program, we would like to extend
a big thanks for your kindness and generosity
in helping us support these grateful families
this past Christmas.
— Student Life