Generous local businesses help food bank have good ending to the week
The end of the work week is proving much better than the start was for Sources Langley Food Bank.
Last weekend, the food bank's van was stolen. In a separate incident, $1,000 worth of gift cards were stolen, and a gas card in the stolen van was taken and the food bank was charged to the tune of $1,300.
However, the food bank shared the news about these thefts with the public, via local and provincial media, and the response has been amazing. A loaner van from Mercedes Benz and another from Willowbrook Chrysler are in use to pick up donations of food, and another van has been donated by a group of local business people. It will replace the stolen van, which was recovered on Saturday but is not driveable at present.
Save-On-Foods replaced the stolen gift cards and donated $500 more.
In addition, many generous people and businesses both within and outside Langley have chipped in to donate food and money to Sources, to ensure that no one in need goes hungry this Christmas. Envision Credit Union has donated a large quantity of frozen chicken, some of which will be given out next Wednesday in the last weekly distribution before Christmas. It and several other credit unions have also donated sizable amounts of cash.
Before all the commotion occurred, my friend Don MacLean had planned a fundraiser for Sources at Jimy Mac's Pub in North Langley. Don and I were both members of the Surrey Food Bank board years ago, and he is a very generous and caring individual.
On Thursday night, Sources operations manager Bruce Strom was at the pub for two hours collecting donations. He was kept busy. Thanks to the generosity of Jimy Mac's patrons, and due in particular to the strong support given by Jimy Mac's staff and management during the evening, more than $2,000 in cash was raised, along with a good quantity of food donations.
Don asked me to come along and observe. I was simply blown away by the generosity of so many people at the pub, which is a very friendly and convivial place. Many of them work or operate businesses in North Langley and Port Kells, and their generosity is truly humbling. A 50-50 raffle raised a total of $550, with half to go to the winner. But winner Chris Wise of Wiser's Wide World of Collectibles, a longtime area business located on 201 Street, gave his winnings to the food bank.
Don and his friends who organized this event, along with all the staff and management at Jimy Mac's, truly have a generous helping of the Christmas spirit. Bruce was very pleased at the generosity shown, and hopefully there will be many more such fundraisers.
Those wishing to help out Sources, with gifts of money and food, or to volunteer, can contact Bruce Strom at 778-875-8341 or at bstrom@sourcesbc.ca.
I'd like to make one other observation. It is very interesting that almost all the businesses who have helped out so generously this past week are local or B.C.-based businesses,. This is one more very good reason to shop local - people who own and operate local businesses are supportive of local charities and local causes in a way that many large chains based in Eastern Canada or the U.S. simply are not.
That is not to say that large businesses don't support charities. However, they often have their own corporate campaigns, managed from head office, and there is often only minimal involvement with locally-based causes. They also are not as nimble and cannot respond to an immediate need, such as the help that Sources needed so desperately this week.
One notable exception is Purolator, which donated a delivery van with a driver to Sources this week. The company deserves credit for that generosity. Purolator has a longstanding commitment to Canadian food banks, so this was a good fit for them.
Last weekend, the food bank's van was stolen. In a separate incident, $1,000 worth of gift cards were stolen, and a gas card in the stolen van was taken and the food bank was charged to the tune of $1,300.
However, the food bank shared the news about these thefts with the public, via local and provincial media, and the response has been amazing. A loaner van from Mercedes Benz and another from Willowbrook Chrysler are in use to pick up donations of food, and another van has been donated by a group of local business people. It will replace the stolen van, which was recovered on Saturday but is not driveable at present.
Save-On-Foods replaced the stolen gift cards and donated $500 more.
In addition, many generous people and businesses both within and outside Langley have chipped in to donate food and money to Sources, to ensure that no one in need goes hungry this Christmas. Envision Credit Union has donated a large quantity of frozen chicken, some of which will be given out next Wednesday in the last weekly distribution before Christmas. It and several other credit unions have also donated sizable amounts of cash.
Before all the commotion occurred, my friend Don MacLean had planned a fundraiser for Sources at Jimy Mac's Pub in North Langley. Don and I were both members of the Surrey Food Bank board years ago, and he is a very generous and caring individual.
On Thursday night, Sources operations manager Bruce Strom was at the pub for two hours collecting donations. He was kept busy. Thanks to the generosity of Jimy Mac's patrons, and due in particular to the strong support given by Jimy Mac's staff and management during the evening, more than $2,000 in cash was raised, along with a good quantity of food donations.
Don asked me to come along and observe. I was simply blown away by the generosity of so many people at the pub, which is a very friendly and convivial place. Many of them work or operate businesses in North Langley and Port Kells, and their generosity is truly humbling. A 50-50 raffle raised a total of $550, with half to go to the winner. But winner Chris Wise of Wiser's Wide World of Collectibles, a longtime area business located on 201 Street, gave his winnings to the food bank.
Don and his friends who organized this event, along with all the staff and management at Jimy Mac's, truly have a generous helping of the Christmas spirit. Bruce was very pleased at the generosity shown, and hopefully there will be many more such fundraisers.
Those wishing to help out Sources, with gifts of money and food, or to volunteer, can contact Bruce Strom at 778-875-8341 or at bstrom@sourcesbc.ca.
I'd like to make one other observation. It is very interesting that almost all the businesses who have helped out so generously this past week are local or B.C.-based businesses,. This is one more very good reason to shop local - people who own and operate local businesses are supportive of local charities and local causes in a way that many large chains based in Eastern Canada or the U.S. simply are not.
That is not to say that large businesses don't support charities. However, they often have their own corporate campaigns, managed from head office, and there is often only minimal involvement with locally-based causes. They also are not as nimble and cannot respond to an immediate need, such as the help that Sources needed so desperately this week.
One notable exception is Purolator, which donated a delivery van with a driver to Sources this week. The company deserves credit for that generosity. Purolator has a longstanding commitment to Canadian food banks, so this was a good fit for them.
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