VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Canada Post is blamed for an embarrassing mistake that affected a prominent local charity. The St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation is ramping up its annual Lights of Hope fundraising campaign, including letters soliciting donations.

Some of them are in Chinese but were addressed to recipients who only speak and read English, including News 1130 Business Editor Richard Dettman.

Broek Bosma, the foundation’s chief development officer, says “It appears the addresses that Canada Post sent to the mail house were in error.” Fortunately, he estimates that only about 100 of the Chinese letters were mistakenly sent out – the total was 22,000.

St. Paul’s will hold a Lights of Hope event outside the hospital on Burrard Street in Vancouver November 24th, turning on tens of thousands of Christmas lights on the historic building.