Image: Southside Church 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Helping Chilliwack families

2,200+ Chilliwack volunteers provide tens of thousands of gifts, hampers for families in Christmas project

Dec 3, 2025 | 7:53 AM

CHILLIWACK — A promise made is a promise kept.

Over 2,200 volunteers recently delivered thousands of Christmas gifts and hampers as part of Southside Church’s “All is Bright” initiative, the Sardis congregation announced online.

Fulfilling its commitment of $500,000 to make Christmas brighter, the volunteers shopped, wrapped and delivered the gifts and hampers, including food, for local families.

For the first time ever, Southside partnered directly with local schools in Chilliwack.

“By working with teachers and counsellors, we were able to identify those students early so no child slips through the cracks – and we’re already making plans to provide ongoing support throughout the school year!” Southside wrote online. “Tens of thousands of gifts and hampers. Countless lives touched by Hope this Christmas. Thank you Jesus for another opportunity to make our city brighter, this Christmas.”

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Image: Southside

Multiple Chilliwack residents acknowledged the work of Southside online, thanking them for spreading Christmas cheer.

For the first time this year, Southside collaborated with Save-On Foods for hamper shopping in their very own All is Bright store. The supermarket generously offered to host a fully stocked All Is Bright store inside their downtown Chilliwack location.

The church says it doesn’t receive government grants or rely on a single donor to fund outreach programs like this.

“We can continue to bless our city, through things like this $500,000 initiative and all our ministries here at Southside, only because ordinary people like you give sacrificially,” Southside wrote in the FAQ section of its website. “We are not waiting to fundraise this money, we are giving it away from our general fund whether the money comes in or not!”

All is Bright began in 2016 when Southside was a smaller church. That initiative resulted in volunteers giving $10,000 and 500 service hours to Chilliwack for Christmas.

Image: Southside / Southside Pastor Mike Mannes (left) is pictured during a recent service with wife Corinne Mannes.

“That was a massive goal for us back then!” Southside wrote on its website. “Over the years, our goals and our faith have grown but what will always remain is this: we will continue to live simply so that others can simply live.”