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Surrey non-profit offers back-to-school help for families in need

City Dream Centre event hands out 1,600 backpacks full of school supplies

Thousands of people attended the City Dream Centre's annual event, where it handed out more than 1,600 backpacks full of school supplies to students in inner-city schools.

More than 2,500 parents, children, friends, and relatives lined up at Kwantlen Park Secondary School on Saturday, with the line wrapping halfway around the building.

Zainab Ali, 12, was so happy to get a new backpack to start the school year.

"It means new supplies and getting to share them with others as well," she said.

In the past, she often had to make do with what she had from previous years. But this year, she is excited to replace her ripped backpack with a new one full of school supplies.

Loretta Hibbs, founder and CEO, said the non-profit had seen an increased need in the community this year as the cost of living continues to rise.

Many people at Saturday's event were newcomers to Canada, and Hibbs said it can be difficult for them to make a living.

"But this helps to alleviate some of that stress, that we can take care of, some of their practical needs going back to school. It puts a smile on their face. It takes a little bit of that stress off, where they can just enjoy the day before they prepare to go back to school," Hibbs said.

The non-profit set up a kids' zone full of games and an inflatable slide.

"We're giving free lunch to everybody, and we're doing what we can to make this an enjoyable experience for everybody, with our kids' zone, because it's a lot of people, a lot of lineups, but I think everybody enjoys what they're getting here today," Hibbs added.

The kids also had a chance to pick out some new clothes and shoes and get their hair cut — all for free.

Coun. Linda Annis was blown away by all the City Dream Centre was doing to help kids prepare to go back to school.

"I can't thank them enough for the work that they do in the community, and it's not just the summer event," Annis said. “The City Dream Centre makes a huge contribution by working closely year-round with teachers, school administrators and school boards to provide food, clothing, hygiene packs, dental care and other essential services for students in need."

“Their efforts go a long way toward building happier and healthier lives and strengthening our community,” she added.  

Annis pointed out that the dream centre has only five full-time staff members. Hibbs said they have more than 700 volunteers that help out at events throughout the year, including the one today where they had "several hundred volunteers." 

The City Dream Centre was founded in 2016. It focuses on "the underprivileged and marginalized" in Surrey and beyond.

“City Dream Centre is committed to ensuring that hope, dignity, and value exist for everyone.” Hibbs says. “No matter their culture or beliefs, we want every student and their families to know each one of them is important, and no one should have to go without the benefit of an education or the essentials of life.”

"We work with the preventative side, which is through our adoptive school program — there's 32 inner city schools elementary schools in Surrey alone; we have 23 adopted by a church organization. What that means is we do an emergency feeding program for weekends. We feed over 200 families weekly," Hibbs said.

"We give all through the summer. We help our families with regular meals because of the kids not having the regular meals from school."

With tears in her eyes, Mayor Brenda Locke was taken aback by the number of people at the event. She said it's vital that the City Dream Centre puts on this event every year and was incredibly grateful to them, calling them a "gift to the City of Surrey."

"Everything is so expensive for families. These are parents just trying to feed their kids and get them to school, they shouldn't have to line up thousands at a time to do that," Locke said.

Visit the citydreamcentre.com to learn more.



Anna Burns

About the Author: Anna Burns

I cover breaking news, health care, non-profits and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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