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Surrey firefighters, hospice donate clothing to Indigenous communities impacted by floods

This is despite the Community Thrift Store suffering yet another break-in
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The Community Thrift Store, which is run as a partnership between the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society and the Surrey Hospice Society, has donated clothing to help Indigenous communities impacted by the flooding last month. (Submitted photo: Dylan Van Rooyen)

The Community Thrift Store, which is run as a partnership between the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society and the Surrey Hospice Society, has donated clothing to help Indigenous communities impacted by the flooding last month.

Dylan Van Rooyen, SFFCS vice-president, said the thrift store was contacted by the Tera Terra Helping Hands Society, which was looking for help to support the flood relief efforts in Indigenous communities.

He said Tera Terra was initially going to use a helicopter to come collect the donations, but once the roads began to reopen, they drove out and collected the donations on Friday (Dec. 17).

Van Rooyen said the thrift store doesn’t have “excess items,” but they donated anything they could spare.

And this is all despite suffering yet another break-in at the store about two weeks ago. There have been several in the last few years.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “every time that happens it sets us back a little further.” The costs then have to come out of the two charitable organizations’ funding.

This time around the store had a broken window and a broken display cabinet where some of the higher-priced items are kept.

Developed about two years ago, the thrift store is a partnership to help raise funds for the two societies, but Van Rooyen said “since then, we’ve also said we want to do as much as we can.”

If there are local disasters, Van Rooyen said they offer those impacted a chance to come down to the thrift store to pick out items.

He noted the thrift store is always in need of clothing, which can be donated at the fire halls’ clothing bins or at the store, located at 7138 King George Blvd.



Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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