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The Canada Post strike is forcing London charities to pivot during prime holiday giving season, finding different ways to reach donors that typically drop a cheque in the mail at this time of year.
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Both the Business Cares Food Drive, the single-largest annual campaign in support of the London Food Bank, and the Ark Aid Street Mission are adapting to reach donors as the nationwide postal strike drags into its fourth week.
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“The postal service disruption is starting to have an effect, but hopefully there’s some settlement this coming week. And if not, we’ll be sounding the alarm bells,” said Wayne Dunn, Business Cares Food Drive campaign chair.
“We’re picking more cheques up, which is great, but we have nowhere near the cheques in that we normally would right now.”
About 55,000 Canada Post employees walked off the job on Nov. 15, ahead of the busiest season for parcel and mail delivery.
The union representing Canada Post employees is seeking wage hikes, improved benefits and clarity on issues involving part-time staff.
Parcels and mail in Canada Post’s possession are being securely kept until the strike is over and delivered on a first-in, first-out basis. Canada Post has warned it will take time for normal operations to resume once workers are back on the job.
The Ark Aid’s Holiday Big Give campaign is hoping to raise $600,000 by year’s end to provide safe beds and warm meals to unhoused Londoners, but the postal strike is forcing the charity to make alternate arrangements.
“Normally we would do a big mail appeal, because we have a lot of senior donors and people who have supported the Ark over 40 years,” executive director Sarah Campbell said, adding there are some donors who make it a yearly tradition to mail a cheque every December.
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“With that going on we have to try something different to get the word out.”
Ark Aid is now promoting online donations and has a system set up to enable donations through text message.
Two anonymous donors and a gala event celebrating the agency’s 40th anniversary have raised more than $160,000, Campbell said. Another donor is matching donations up to $20,000 sent in to the charity on Monday Dec. 9, Campbell said Sunday.
Ark Aid’s fundraising push is critical, Campbell said, after London city council pared down its winter homeless response for the 2024-25 season, including new rules on nighttime resting spaces.
Despite the postal strike setback, Dunn is confident the Business Cares Food Drive is headed for a strong showing this season.
The food drive had an “unbelievable” opening weekend on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with about 1,000 volunteers spread out across 38 grocery stores in the city, Dunn said.
While the total haul from Grocery Store Weekend was an increase of just one per cent from last year, it’s cause for celebration, Dunn said.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but in 2023 there was a 23 per cent increase from the previous Grocery Store Weekend in 2022,” Dunn said. “We held the increase and added another per cent in 2024. Londoners just keep giving.”
The Business Cares team is encouraging more businesses to sign up as the campaign enters its final two weeks.
Business Cares is holding a Tampon Tuesday event at The Factory this week and is inviting fans headed to the London Knights games on Dec. 13 and 15 to bring a can to donate.
The final totals for the 2024 Business Cares Food Drive will be revealed on Dec. 19.
jbieman@postmedia.com
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