Be a dream maker
Helping to face challenging situations.
Get involved and be a Dream Maker.
Get involved and be a Dream Maker.
We know we achieve a lot more when we work together and we have a lot of opportunities to get involved. We also know that every contribution, big or small, makes a difference. Consider volunteering at one of our special events or even host your own fundraiser.
In fact, there are many ways to contribute to the Help Fill a Dream Foundation:
Be a Dream maker
Volunteer
You can help make the Dreams of children with life-threatening / critical conditions come true! There are many ways you can help and no matter how you choose to get involved, the support of generous people like you enables us to make each Dream a reality.
Volunteers give the most valuable gift of all – their time. Through your hard work, passion and commitment to making Dreams come true, you’ll change the lives of many children – and your own.
The appreciation we feel for all of our volunteers is indescribable. Thank you all for being Dream Makers!
To learn more about volunteering at Help Fill A Dream, call or email us or complete our online volunteer form.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Be a Dream maker
Ways to Donate to Help Fill A Dream
Although the true impact of a Dream can never be measured in terms of dollars and cents, through the generosity of our donors we are able to offer children and families the support they truly need. Your gifts are essential to the work we do every day.
There are so many unique ways to give!
You can support Help Fill A Dream simply by returning your empties. Stop in with your bottle returns at any Victoria Bottle Depot (Glanford, Quadra or Queens) and mention Help Fill A Dream to donate part or all of your return. Not only is Help Fill A Dream benefiting, but we’re helping to keep containers out of our landfill and ocean!
Our mailing address:
Help Fill A Dream Foundation
1720 McTavish Rd
North Saanich, BC
V8L 5T9
Make a secure, convenient donation online.
Telephone: 250-382-3135
Toll free: 1-866-382-2711
Remember a loved one who has passed away with a donation to Help Fill A Dream in their memory. Please contact Help Fill A Dream with the details of the memorial donation and we can acknowledge your gift with a card or letter to the family.
Make a donation to Help Fill A Dream in honour of someone – to celebrate a birthday, act of service, or any other special occasion. Please contact Help Fill A Dream with the details of the donation and we can acknowledge your gift with a card or letter to the individual or organization being honoured.
We recommend that you engage your financial or legal advisor to help you plan your legacy giving. Together with your family, this professional can help you make the best decisions regarding what you want your legacy to be, how much you can afford to give and how your estate can further your goals. Some examples of legacy giving include:
- Will & Trusts
- Endowments
- Life Insurance
- Retirement funds
- Stocks, bonds or mutual funds
Simply save your Country Grocer receipts, and we’ll receive 1% of their value in the form of Country Grocer Gift Cards.
Help Fill A Dream with Your Country Grocer Receipts!
Simply save your Country Grocer receipts, and we’ll receive 1% of their value in the form of Country Grocer Gift Cards.
These gift cards are crucial for our Emergency Assistance Card (EAC) program, which offers immediate support to families facing unexpected health crises at Victoria General Hospital or Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. In these stressful times, families may find themselves unprepared and in need of basic necessities. Our EAC program provides gift cards for essentials like groceries, coffee, BC Transit bus tickets, and hospital cafeteria vouchers.
These small gestures can make a significant difference, helping families cover transportation costs, food, and providing moments of relief.
Real Impact
Pediatric social workers see firsthand how valuable these gift cards are. One social worker shared:
“Gift cards make a huge difference. Families often face traumatic situations and unexpected overnight stays. Being able to offer a Tim’s card or grocery card, especially a gas card for those traveling long distances, can bring tears of relief. It helps them get to appointments, manage their day, and feel supported.”
How to Contribute
- Save your Country Grocer receipts.
- When you have a stack ready, contact us to arrange pickup.
Email us at [email protected] or call (250) 382-3135.
Thank you for your support!
Fundraising
- Gala dinners
- Walk-a-thons
- Sports tournaments
- Movie nights
- Birthday parties
- Weddings
- Silent auctions
- BBQ’s
- Bake sales
- Customer Appreciation Days
- Casual days
- Garage Sales
- Car Washes
- Gala dinners
- Walk-a-thons
- Sports tournaments
- Movie nights
- Birthday parties
- Weddings
- Silent auctions
- BBQ’s
- Bake sales
- Customer Appreciation Days
- Casual days
- Garage Sales
- Car Washes
Community Partnerships
The generosity of donors has enabled Help Fill A Dream to inspire children on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands with life-threatening / critical conditions by filling Dreams or providing support through the Family Assistance program. When you become a community partner, you are directly supporting a Vancouver Island or Gulf Island child and their family. Contact us to discuss how you can become a community partner.
Be a Dream maker
Leave a Legacy
Legacy giving is a wonderful way to support the things you care about most, now and after you’re gone. For many donors, it’s also an important part of estate planning. Whatever your reasons, creating a legacy gift is an excellent way to support Help Fill A Dream well into the future.
Legacies of Hope
Ron Linnes
The team at HFAD is always incredibly grateful to receive a legacy gift. However, we were initially perplexed about the connection between the Foundation and the late Mr. Ron Linnes. This is the heartfelt story of how that connection was discovered and the lasting impact one man will have on local children.
One weekend in mid-September 2024, Tony Baldo, Board President of Help Fill a Dream Foundation, organized a volunteer crew of staff, board members, and friends of the Foundation to help clean up a property bequeathed to Help Fill a Dream.
Since housecleaning, lawn mowing, and property maintenance are hard work, Tony set up a food and drink station in the yard. Amongst the muffins, bottled water, and sandwiches, Tony placed a photo of Mr. Linnes with his little dog. He felt it was important for the volunteers that day to be able to put a face to the generous gentleman whose home they were preparing for sale.
That afternoon, in the midst of all the activity, a joyful shriek was heard from the snack table. Standing there with happy tears in her eyes was Dream recipient Andrei’s mom, Annelies. The connection was finally made.
Years earlier, Ron Linnes and his dog, who, Annelies recalled, was named Poppy, used to visit their farm stand. While Ron bought homemade preserves and chatted with Annelies, Andrei, then just six or seven years old, would play with Poppy. They never could have imagined that those short, happy visits would have such a profound impact on Mr. Linnes, that he would one day make Help Fill a Dream the sole beneficiary of his estate.
Mr. Linnes was a quiet man who had worked as a machinist at the dockyard in Esquimalt. His pride and joy was his beloved dog, Poppy. Ron Linnes was a true “salt of the earth” kind of man. He was an avid car enthusiast who once raced cars, a fisherman, motorcyclist, and outdoorsman. He also loved to golf, so on a beautiful Saturday, July 26, 2025, we teed off at Ardmore Golf Course for the inaugural Ron Linnes Memorial Golf Tournament. Together, we raised $23,000 to help local children with life-threatening or critical medical conditions. This new fundraising event honours an extraordinary man. Ron Linnes’ generosity and legacy will continue to have a lasting impact, helping make Dreams come true for children across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
If Ron’s story inspires you, we encourage you to speak with your financial or legal advisor about how you can create your own legacy of giving. Whether through a gift in your will, an endowment, life insurance, retirement funds, or other assets, your generosity can help ensure that more Dreams come true for children in our community.
Roger Bishop
Roger Bishop used his will to make a gift to Help Fill A Dream. Known to generations of UVIC students, faculty, and administrators as RJB, Roger Joseph Bishop, Professor Emeritus was a key figure in the establishment of the UVIC Department of English. When he died on 30 March 2016, Professor Bishop was just 41 days short of his 100th birthday.
Roger was a philanthropist who supported a variety of causes. His connection with Help Fill A Dream is through Dream child Emily and her family. When Emily was seven, Help Fill A Dream sent her on a Dream trip to Disneyland. Following two years of treatment for Leukemia, the trip was life changing for her entire family. It was a chance to destress, to relax, to take a breath. She got to be a kid again and play with her brother.
Roger and Emily’s family developed a deep friendship. Roger saw the healing power and impact a Dream can have through Emily, and he wanted to ensure other children had their Dreams come true as well. He did this through a gift in his will. Years later, when she was in her late 20’s, Emily joined the Help Fill A Dream Board of Directors, providing a unique perspective of how the organization makes a difference.
Tina and Phil
Tina and Phil from Victoria made the decision to leave a legacy gift in their will.
“We had been putting off making a will for years, we always thought we were too young. A few sudden deaths of close friends and family make you realise you’re never too young to make a will, and we didn’t want to put it off any longer. You just never know what’s around the corner.”
It was important to the couple that the legacy they left had real meaning.
“We wanted to leave a legacy to not only help out family but those that really need it. We can make a difference to a child and their family by leaving a legacy in our will.
We hadn’t realized that without a will, our estate could be tied up for years and the only real winner would be the lawyers and the government; we worked too hard to have that happen. We don’t have a lot but if that can help a family through some difficult times it’s totally worth it!”
Help Fill A Dream was an obvious choice for Tina and Phil, “We have done some voluntary work with Help Fill A Dream with the Taking it to the Streets event, Heritage Haunted House and the Golf for Kids Tournament – seeing the children and their families, and the look of joy on their faces is priceless. Knowing that we can make a difference when we are no longer here made sense for us.”
Once they had made their decision the process was easy, “Our Lawyer just added Help Fill A Dream with the charity number and we were done!”
We are extremely grateful to donors like Ron Linnes, Roger Bishop, and Tina and Phil – their legacy gifts will ensure that Help Fill A Dream can continue to provide hope, help and happiness to children into the future.
If you are considering leaving a gift to Help Fill A Dream please get in touch with our office to discuss options and receive further information.
Please ensure you use the legal name Help Fill A Dream Foundation of Canada in a will or other legal document. Registered Charity No. 11895 5830 RR0001