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Sources receives $70K from SurreyCares

Funds will help with warehouse space for food programs in Surrey, White Rock, Langley
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Sources Community Resource Society received $70,777 from SurreyCares Community Foundation. From left: Denise Darrell, executive director of Women, Seniors & Community Services of Sources; David Young, chief executive officer of Sources; Christine Buttkus, executive director of SurreyCares; and Linda Annis, director with SurreyCares. (Submitted photo: SurreyCares)

The SurreyCares Community Foundation has announced nearly $150,000 in grants to two organizations.

The announcement, made Thursday, is a result of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada, United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross and is funded through the Government of Canada’s $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF), which was initially announced in April 21 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as part of a series of emergency response measures by the Government of Canada.

Through this partnership, SurreyCares is providing more than $900,000 to support support social service agencies in Surrey who are “in the trenches,” as they help people impacted by COVID-19.

The two organizations are Sources Community Resources Society and Dan’s Legacy, which is receiving $70,777 and $75,000 respectively.

Sources, which provides community, social and health-related programs, will be using the funding to “scale up and scale out their food security services so that they can provide more nutritious food to the growing need in local communities throughout the pandemic and beyond.”

Denise Darrell, executive director of Community Services at Sources, said it will “significantly” improve the health and well-being of low-income individuals and help those communities thrive.

“Many communities and social service agencies that serve meals to the underprivileged are struggling due to food supply chains being affected by the pandemic,” Darrell said.

“Part of what Sources Food Hub does is recover edible, unmarketable food from farmers and grocers and provide it to our partner organizations, effectively reducing food waste while feeding those in need. This grant will help us upgrade to a larger site, where we can process more food while reducing the risk of COVID contamination and expand our food security services beyond Surrey, out to White Rock and Langley.”

Dan’s Legacy, which provides therapeutic counselling and life-skills intervention programs to youth affected by trauma-based mental health and addictions issues, will be using its grant to support COVID-19 mental health counselling for at-risk youth.

“Directing funding towards trauma-informed counselling programs like ours is a major investment in evidence-based harm prevention strategies, ensuring the youth get the critical support they need to help them take control of their lives and begin working towards their educational, employment and recovery goals,” said Barbara Coates, Dan’s Legacy executive director.

SEE MORE: Emergency fund put to work as 1,000 food hampers being sent to Surrey families

ABOVE: SurreyCares Community Foundation’s Christine Buttkus, second from left, presents a $21,000 grant to the African Stages Association of BC for its African Collective Covid-19 Project. The presentation happened on June 19 at the GG’s Unisex Beauty & African Caribbean Market in Surrey. (Photo submitted)

In June, SurreyCares announced that it gave a $21,000 grant to the African Stages Association of BC’s African Collective Covid-19 Project through the Emergency Community Support Fund.

The goal of the African Collective Covid-19 Project is to provide food hampers containing culturally appropriate foods as well as protective wear (face masks, gloves), and hygiene items (hand sanitizers) to underserved members of the African Descent community in Surrey.

“For the African community, this is a very significant contribution from SurreyCares and our government” said Charles Quist-Adade, executive director of African Stages. “Most of our members were born in Africa with a taste for African food. However, the prices of African foods here are very expensive and because of that, many of us have a hard time buying the amount of food we need, especially in the period of COVID-19, when our finances are stretched.”

Meanwhile, individuals and businesses who would like to support Surrey charities are asked to give to the Surrey Community Relief Fund. In partnership with the Now-Leader, Surrey Board of Trade and The Saheli Foundation the goal is to raise $500,000 to be support the most vulnerable populations in Surrey.

Click here for more information or to donate to the Surrey Community Relief Fund.



beau.simpson@surreynowleader.com

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