Salvation Army receives $100,000 for wildfire relief from the Central Okanagan Foundation

Photo: Contributed

From left to right: Cameron Johnson of The RDCO Resiliency Centre, Jennifer Henson of The Westside Salvation Army, Cheryl Miller of The Central Okanagan Foundation, Abbie Norrish of The Central Okanagan Foundation, Steve Schell of The RDCO Resiliency Centre.

The Westside Salvation Army has received a $100,000 donation from the Central Okanagan Foundation that will go towards wildfire relief efforts.

Resiliency Centre recovery manager Steve Schell says the donation will go a long way to support residents from West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Electoral Area West in the Regional District of Central Okanagan, as they recover from the McDougall Creek wildfire.

"The disruption to residents' lives due to the wildfire is significant and donations like this will help to address gaps and provide some reassurance to community members that are particularly vulnerable. The Resiliency Centre team is grateful for the generous support of donors to the Central Okanagan Foundation’s 2023 Wildfire Response Fund and The Salvation Army,” says Schell.

The Westside Salvation Army has a caseworker at the centre every day connecting people and families with community supports. The organization is also issuing relief grants to help with rent and housing support, as well as grants to support people who are now struggling to meet their basic needs like food, transportation, and clothing.

The impact being felt by dozens of households is life-altering, according to Captain Jennifer Henson with the Westside Salvation Army.

"Many households are discovering their new normal while rebuilding their lives post-fire, and we are here to support them on that journey. Thanks to the generosity of the Central Okanagan Foundation, we will continue to support households in very practical ways, one of the most important being finances to secure housing rentals, because the homes they once had are now gone.”