This is our Carol who supplies the Cape Breton Obits to our list daily. It also happens to be her birthday, 24 DEC. Carol gave me the grand tour of Vancouver in September and even then I had to book a time with her as she was so busy doing her volunteer work.. I have a couple of photo's that were with the article, e-mail me direct and I will send copies Merry Christmas to all and Happy Birthday Carol Don Vancouver Sun Dec 23, 2008 Volunteers show the spirit of Christmas by helping others By Kelly SinoskiDecember 23, 2008Be the first to post a comment Carol MacLean collects money for the Salvation Army in front of London Drugs store at Granville and Georgia. Carol MacLean collects money for the Salvation Army in front of London Drugs store at Granville and Georgia. Photograph by: Bill Keay/Vancouver Sun VANCOUVER - Carol MacLean has always loved to give more than receive. As a child, she would wrap each sock as a separate gift so her siblings got more presents for Christmas. And whenever she’s given a hot coffee or a snack by passersby while collecting money for the Salvation Army’s kettle campaign, she always gives it to a homeless person nearby. Since Nov. 21, MacLean has been outside the London Drugs store at Granville and Georgia with her decorated Sally Ann kettle and her eight sets of bells nearly every day, calling on the public to spread a little cheer to Metro Vancouver’ s less fortunate. It’s a gig she’s been doing now for the past eight years, through cold, rain, sleet and snow. She even went out in last week’s snowstorm but went home early because the shoppers were all inside. “I love it. I want to be outside and I’m helping other people,” said MacLean, who will celebrate her 58th birthday on Christmas Eve. “I’ve always done things for other people.” Down the road at Pacific Centre, Alex Starogardzki has worked on the Sally Ann campaign off and on for the past 30 years. He has braved rain and sleet and freezing temperatures that left icicles “hanging down from your beard.” He estimates that about half the people who pass stop to donate, but the money does add up. He and MacLean are just a few of the people who help the needy during the Christmas season. Some donate their time to serve the homeless and others less fortunate at the Union Gospel Mission and Salvation Army Christmas dinners throughout the region. Volunteers must book early to help out during the Christmas season. Others have volunteered at the Union Gospel Mission’s women’s drop-in centre to plan Christmas parties or make wreaths for people living in the area’s housing developments. Others donate their time by wrapping gifts at the mall for the YWCA of Greater Vancouver. The Union Gospel Mission is in need of people able to drive five-tonne trucks to do deliveries of Christmas hampers. E-mail volunteers@ugm.ca or call 604-253-3323. The Salvation Army’s soup kitchen is always looking for help serving people in the downtown core during the Christmas holiday season. If interested, call 604-646-6800. “We have been blessed with an abundance of volunteers this year,” said Joanne Anderson, manager of volunteer services for the Union Gospel Mission. “ Christmas is a time when so many people want to come out and help.”