In the spirit of giving this Christmas, we would like to spotlight how Vancouver’s very own Santa Hank is helping our community – through recycling. A retired resident in North Vancouver, Hank Brennon started his own recycling charity – called Hank’s Christmas Glitter – to donate to the homeless. He recalls delivering stockings to the homeless a few years back during winter and “a group of them referred to [him] as Santa Hank,” and the name stuck. In my interview with him, I was deeply enlightened by his passion for service and spreading joy to those most in need. Follow me on Santa Hank’s experience through his very own words.

What’s your favourite part about your community?

It’s because it’s a community. It’s not like being in a big city; you walk into a town and people know who you are. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know a lot of the homeless people on the North Shore.

Why do you enjoy giving back?

It’s in my nature. I’ve always been that way for all my life, I guess. I was always ready to go out and help people if they needed a hand at something. So when I started the charity, I thought I had something really nice…it was something I loved doing. I started collecting bottles and cans, which initially, my family and friends helped with. And of course, there’s the environmental aspect of making the community cleaner, so I kind of hit 2 birds with one stone.

How did the idea of recycling and donating its proceeds come to you?

In 2006, while managing a couple of apartment buildings on top of the North Shore, I got the idea of recycling because I wanted to save up for a cruise. Just under 2 years later, I was on my way to an Alaska cruise tour. Before I went on the cruise, I had just over $6000 saved up. It was just a one-time thing I wanted to do, you know. But I thought, now, if I stopped recycling, all of it was going to go to waste. So I thought if I do this charity thing, it won’t. And older contributors who were giving me their bottles and cans during this period stayed on board with me because I was doing it for charity.

Describe a highlight of your career as Santa Hank.

The singular one has to be the big picture. What I mean by that is there’s a whole process of picking up bags and bottles back to my location (Santa’s Village) and unloading them. And then the volunteers and I would sort all bottles, so there was a certain bit of work involved, before going to the depot and cashing it in and getting the gift cards. The big picture came down to the moment that I would be speaking to the homeless, listening to their situation, and giving them the appropriate card that they would be so grateful for. Sometimes they would be mothers and kids that I was helping get groceries. That’s the picture, being focused on the end result is what makes everything worthwhile. That’s also what motivates me when I hand out Christmas stockings – which is what I’m doing right now, as of yesterday. I got a call from a lady with 5 children – it’s the first time in this predicament -, and I’m putting through some gift cards and baskets so they can have something special this Christmas. The big picture is what makes everything from the beginning to the end all worthwhile. I’m retired, and my life is good, and luckily I can do this. And I have something to do for the rest of my life.

Is it important to respect the environment?

Absolutely. For sure. Keeping our communities clean is a big help right there.

If you had one wish this Christmas, what would it be?

That every family wouldn’t do without.

What would you say to the youth of Vancouver today?

There are a hundred answers to that. I know it’s unrelated to what I’m talking about, but the big thing for me is to have respect for each other. And of course, where they can, they should look into volunteering somewhere in their community. There’s always help needed and volunteers are always needed. If they were to give a couple of hours to any organization that requires volunteers, they’re going to go home and feel pretty good once they realize what they were doing.

To learn more about Santa Hank:

Facebook: hankschristmasglitter

Website: http://hankschristmasglitter.com/home/

Special Christmas Greetings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVvgBvqiofA

CTV News: Santa Hank primed for busy season of giving back

Youtube: HankBrennan

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