By Colleen Flanagan, Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows News
Special presents were handed out at Christmas Haven this year, specifically for children and youth, thanks to a local high school student who wanted to make a difference.
Brooklyn Nicholson, a Grade 12 student at Westview Secondary School, handed out 144 special gift packs – 70 for teens and another 74 for children – at the community event that has been taking place on Christmas Eve since 1998.
Christmas Haven is a free, non-denominational celebration for anyone who doesn’t want to be alone for Christmas. In recent years it has been taking place at The ACT Arts Centre, in the heart of downtown Maple Ridge.
In September, Nicholson, whose mother Andrea Nicholson is on the committee for Christmas Haven, decided she wanted to do something to help other teenagers in the community, who might not be as privileged as herself.