It was a beautiful downtown Vancouver morning, when Sparky the Elf, alongside Mr. & Mrs. Claus, delivered a promissory note of 3,000 new, unwrapped toys on behalf of TransLink and its operating companies to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau (LMCB).

This annual tradition has taken place for 33 years, and this year, it surpassed the promised amount by 304 toys and $1,240 in cash and gift card donations!

Toys for Tots in our region was developed by a group of BC Transit operators out of Surrey Transit Centre way back in 1985. Since its inception, TransLink enterprise employees have dug deep annually to fill our Reindeer Bus and Reindeer Shuttle full of toys for less-fortunate families. This year was no different!

Donations filled up collection boxes at our transit centres, TransLink Lost Property as well as HQs for TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Company, British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, and Transit Police. New this year, you, our customers helped our cause by donating at our Waterfront Station Pop-Up Shop!

On December 19 and 20, our Reindeer Bus and Reindeer Shuttle—accompanied by Santa, Mrs.Claus, Sparky the Elf, Olive, the other reindeer, and many other holiday helpers loaded up for the big drop off at the LMCB. Check out the gallery below!

This year brings our cumulative Toys for Tots’ 33rd year’s grand total to 81,834 new, unwrapped toys and $46,749 in cash and gift cards donated!

One word. AMAZING!

A huge thanks goes out to all of the TransLink enterprise staff, and of course our customers for all that you do to help support this heart-warming initiative.

Happy Holidays!

Author: Sarah Kertcher