It started with a clever scheme to earn himself a vacation. Hank Brennan began collecting bottles and cans to fund a cruise to Alaska. It took the North Vancouver videographer and building manager almost two years to raise enough money for what turned out to be the trip of a lifetime.
But, as he returned home in 2008, Brennan felt compelled to keep the recycling side-hustle going.
“I realized I’m not doing [a cruise] again, and if I stop, then what a waste. So I thought what else could I do? And there was nothing better than doing some kind of charity work,” he said.
Donning a red fleece and cap with a white faux fur trim, he founded Hank’s Christmas Glitter, a charity that turns refunds for bottles and cans into treasured gifts for those in need.
Much like municipal collection, Brennan and his volunteers served different neighbourhoods on different days, driving around in his custom-wrapped Christmas-themed minivans, collecting recyclables and bringing them back to “Santa’s Workshop” in Edgemont Village. There, they would sort the bottles and cans and arrange for them to be returned. All of the proceeds were spent on gift cards for local chain restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores, which “Santa Hank” hand delivered to people in need, most of them living on the streets.
“Up to date, it looks like it was well over $400,000 in gift cards,” Brennan said. “It’s always been good.”
But why the Christmas motif? For someone who embodies the spirit of the season all year round, it was an obvious choice for Brennan.
“First of all, I love Christmas. Our whole family is just full of Christmas all the time and I thought, well, who better to put a face to this charity than Santa? Why can’t Santa do this?”
Helping those who are homeless on the North Shore
The latest official homeless count found 168 individuals with no fixed address living on the North Shore, although advocates estimate the real number is probably more than 400. After so many years of handing out gift cards, Brennan is on a first-name basis with almost all of them, even the ones who prefer to hide well out of sight.
“They could see I was a friendly voice. They weren’t nervous about anything, and I’d just have a little chat with them and see just where I could help them that day. And 98 per cent of the time, the cards would do the trick,” he said. “I always tell people you and I are not going to save the world. That’s a fact. What’s happening now is always going to be. But we can always help the few around us.”
Building a rapport with people on the street means hearing a lot of traumatic personal stories, which can become a burden heavier than a sack full of recycling. There are some Brennan can’t bring himself to repeat, even among those he confides in most.
“There’s a lot of what happened over the years that’ll probably never really come to light,” he said. “There’s a lot of stories I can tell, but they’re the happier ones.”
One of his fondest memories was at Christmas when Brennan – dressed as Santa Clause, white beard and all – was handing out stockings stuffed with treats and useful items to some gents waiting outside one of the bottle depots. It took a moment for Brennan to realize the impact the gesture had on one of them.
“He was standing there holding the stocking the same way that a mother holds her infant … and these tears were coming down off his face,” he said. “He turned around and looked at me, and he says, ‘Nobody’s ever done this for me before.’ He was kind of stunned. And I never forgot that that picture in my mind.”
Service is its own reward
Brennan’s generosity hasn’t gone without recognition. He’s been featured in the media many times. And North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson invited Brennan to his office to receive a Canada 150 pin, recognizing those who’ve made contributions to their community.
It was never about getting attention or accolades though. In fact, he bristles at the thought of bragging. Brennan said he always knew his work wasn’t going to solve the big problems underlying homelessness, but it was reward enough to introduce a bit of compassion to someone grateful to receive it.
“It was the big picture. It wasn’t about what people thought was a lot of work, because I never called it work. None of us did , not when you enjoy doing what you do as much as we did,” he said. “Because I knew what the end results were, and that was passing those cards, putting them into somebody’s hands. That was going to make a difference in their day.”
And Brennan emphasizes, even the real St. Nick has helpers. Chief among Santa Hank’s were his younger brother and “head elf” Steve, who also once experienced living through addiction and homelessness himself, and his other brother Larry who spent his evenings collecting returnables from apartments on the North Shore.
When Brennan’s 1998 Chrysler Grand Voyager minivan began to conk out after more than 410,000 kilometres, the community put up more than $25,000 for a replacement, and the Jim Pattison Group donated a second van. Another company donated their services for the custom wraps.
Volunteers who helped with the pick-up and sorting have come and gone, but there a few Brennan name-drops as being key: Henrik Nielsen, Lynda Cameron, Alex Neubauer, Nelson Batista, Tony da Roza and Drew Wells.
“This would not have happened without all the help that I got,” he said.
Santa retires
Now after 17 years, Santa Hank has put is sleigh in park for the last time.
For the last seven years, the charity had been operating out of a house in Edgemont, which a developer had purchased and was donating to Hank’s Christmas Glitter pending its eventual redevelopment.
Late last year, Brennan received word the free lease would be coming to an end this summer. He looked into renting another space to keep up the work, but the numbers didn’t pencil out.
“I sat back and had a little chat with myself, and I just said, ‘You know, Hank, you’re going to be 73 this year. You’re in good health. You’ve got no aches or pains. Maybe the timing of this is good now,” he said.
Brennan let his devoted donors know he’d be winding down operations and, after putting in full-time hours, seven days a week for the last 17 years, Brennan spent his first official day of retirement fishing on Canada Day.
Much like Santa, Brennan now keeps two lists, although they’re not about separating the naughty from the nice. Instead, they itemize the sunny day activities he has time to do in retirement and the rainy day ones.
“I’m going to be able to do all those things that we procrastinate over the years about doing and places that you’re going to go…. I would have to have at least another half a lifetime to get it done,” he said. “Bottom line is, I’m never going to be bored.”
The giving spirit
His absence will be felt, however.
Sharon Henwood, who lived in a building that Brennan was managing until it was redeveloped, said he was always ready to help her with a gift card and a Christmas hamper.
“He’s just really thoughtful and always there for people, and he never asks or expects anything in return,” she said. “He just has a really big heart and I’m just thankful for everything he did.”
While Mike Sikora was panhandling outside the Westview Shopping Centre in 2016, he had his first encounter with Brennan, who unexpectedly presented him with a Christmas basket.
“I was just so overwhelmed,” he said.
The two became friends, and when Sikora got into an apartment he could afford five years ago, Brennan offered his Christmas van and his services as a driver to move in some furniture.
More than the much-appreciated gift cards, Christmas baskets and other help, Sikora said Brennan’s ability to connect with people earned him a lot of admiration and friendships on the street.
“He’s a man that makes me feel like a human being. You know, no judgments at all,” he said. “He’s not that type of person. He’s there to help people.”
Although Brennan is always hesitant about receiving attention, Sikora said he should be up for an award of some kind.
“God bless him, like, I love the guy. I love the guy.… What he’s given back to the North Shore community, at times, I cry about it,” he said. “I’m so happy to see that he is giving time to himself now, which he definitely deserves after all the years of giving to others.”
While Santa Hank’s work has come to its end, the housing crisis surely hasn’t. Brennan won’t get into discussing the politics of the matter, other than to say, resolutely, “No one should be homeless and, especially, hungry. Nobody.”
But there if there is still something the Christmas-loving philanthropist has on his wish list for those he has been serving, it’s for the wider community to be reminded that no act of compassion, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
“I’ve got to say, for me, it all starts with a little bit of respect, because it really does go a long way,” he said. “Just to say ‘Hello, how was your day?’ Believe it or not, it actually makes them feel better that somebody acknowledged them.”
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