'It's a perfect storm': Surrey Christmas Bureau short on donations

The Surrey Christmas Bureau has been hit hard by what organizers are calling "a perfect storm."

The annual drive that provides toys and gifts to low-income families has seen fewer donations for the 2016 season, on top of an increase in families that have enrolled in the service.

And as the families begin to roll in to collect their gifts for the holidays, bureau coordinator KC Gilroy says this year the drive will have to give less.

"There will just barely be enough gifts if we cut way, way back," said Gilroy. "We'd like to give three to four gifts per [young] child ... but we might only have to give one this year."

Gilroy says gift donations are down nearly 20 per cent this year, while their funding and cash donations — which usually add up to about $140,000 annually — is also down about 15 per cent.

More families registering

This year, the organization registered an extra 200 families and has had to turn many away because of the crunch.

"We're at well over 1,800 families now," she said. "We really hard-lined this year on registration cutoff."

Gilroy attributes the swell to the uptick of migrant and refugee families that have settled in Surrey over the past year, many of whom still struggle to make ends meet.

Turning families away has been hard, she said. Organizers have let a few slip in despite the cut-off but only under extreme circumstances.

"I don't want the message getting out that we're still registering right now, because we can't. We don't have the funds or the toys."

Gilroy urges families to continue donating through the holidays.

"That way, when the children go back to school in January, they have a story to tell about what they got for Christmas."