What your donations bought

Thanks to all of you that donated to our winter campaign which raised just over $500. The response to the piece I wrote for The Observer (page 5) was heartwarming both in terms of donations and those who reached out interesting in volunteering.

The first use of the money was in late December, just before Christmas, when I asked the lovely Niki of The Backpack Project if I could get anything for her organization. She said not at the moment but mentioned that AVI’s night time drop in had a request out on Facebook for some food supplies. I ended up buying about $100 worth of sandwich fixings as well as items for a pancake breakfast the next morning. Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of that donation (but in my defense it’s kind of boring to feature photos of big jugs of milk, cheese slices and loaves of bread).

Then in January and February I did two purchases (at the Dollar Tree in Tillicum which features some amazing deals as well as at London Drugs) of gloves, socks and hats. For sure the most fun I had shopping was buying pajamas, slippers and robes (see image below) for the occupants of the newly opened Sacred Cradle House or Xexe Pahlatsis’lelum in lək̓ʷəŋən (lekwangen). Those are some individually wrapped chocolates in the little gauze gift bags on top of each pile of clothes.

Smaller purchases included food for someone sheltering in a local park as well as a new tent and rolling suitcase for the same person (a good alternative to a wagon as it is much easier to take on the bus even though it is big). I bargain shopped for everything I bought (for example chocolates were 50% off as they were left over Christmas stock) and I have a little bit of money left over that will be useful for emergencies that come up.

Speaking of emergencies, if you’ve been watching the weather (and who hasn’t) you probably know that we’ve had more extreme weather in the first few months of the year than in the latter part of 2024. Our first Extreme Weather Alert (EWA) wasn’t called until November 19th and of the 13 extreme weather alerts only 5 were in 2024 – the rest have been since January 6, 2025 (5 in January, 1 in February and 2 in March so far).

When an EWA is called the local organization responsible for managing the Extreme Weather Response (EWR) let’s service providers and others know that the EWA has been called and where people can find overnight shelter. The response this year was very limited consisting of only 30 mats on the floor of the Salvation Army ARC (at the foot of Yates Street). This space also did not accept pets and it wasn’t clear whether people would have anywhere to store their belongings should they come there from a park.

The EWA called at the end of January was brutal as it was called on January 31st and not cancelled until February 15th. You may have seen media coverage at the time with the city requesting staff resources from the province to keep the Cook Street Activity Centre Open as an additional warming centre and the province’s refusal to supply workers.

Typically the ‘extreme weather response’ ends on March 31 – whether Mother Nature has other plans or not. That’s why NSUN welcomes your donations at any time of the year – we never know when an extreme event – heavy rainfall, bitter cold or extreme heat – will raise an urgent demand for warm clothing, tents and tarps to replace those irreparably damaged by weather or cold drinks and misting equipment to respond to heat. Simply go to the FGCA Canada Helps page, select #3 in the drop down list and we’ll turn your donations into whatever is needed to mitigate the crisis of the moment.