A relief effort for more than 37,000 displaced British Columbians due to wildfires is underway province-wide and the Oak Bay community is stepping into the fold.
OBFD is currently accepting donations (NEW hygiene products, towels, sheets, blankets) for Disaster Aid Canada for the #BcWildFire evacuees pic.twitter.com/BPAqlydAjW
— OakBayFire (@OakBayFireDept) July 19, 2017
The Oak Bay Fire department launched its own donation bin this week for toiletries and new linens, scarce in the biggest evacuation centres, such as Kamloops and Kelwona.
Eilleen Grant, Oak Bay manager of emergency programs, said the fire department serves as a depot to collect items as part of a larger flux of items flowing into the interior by air and ferry, but with the hope that the items donated actually help and not overflow relief centres with unnecessary inventory.
“One of the problems is that people load up trucks … usually those trucks are filled with stuff that isn’t required, and then you’ve got to sort through it, figure out what to do with it, then it becomes more of a problem instead of an assistance,” she said. “The reason why we haven’t just made a blank request, is that we’re aware of this problem and we don’t want to add to it.”
Grant highlighted the importance of establishing that connection between the much-needed supplies and those on the ground, in the thick of it, distributing these items to those in need.
“When you do something like this, you really need the appropriate contacts, so you’re not just sending it off,” Grant said.
That’s where Anne McIntyre Executive Director at Disaster Aid Canada, steps in. She works closely with Rotary clubs in B.C., in Canada and internationally to create those critical connections that makes sure whatever is donated and sent away gets to where it’s needed.
“It gets a lot of community people working and involved, and everybody gives in different ways,” she said, adding several leadership students from Oak Bay High School stepped in as well, and there are many ways to help.
“We have a lot of youth involved … it’s nice to see them come back and wanting to come back. Not everyone has money. Everyone wants to do something, but they just don’t know how unless you provide those options for them.”
McIntyre and her team sent two shipments out already and plan to have a third out this week.
Westjet is flying supplies over from Disaster Aid’s warehouse in Esquimalt to Prince George for free.
“Our Rotarians in Prince George pick them up at the airport and make the deliveries for us, so it totally eliminates that huge cost, and we’re able to put more money into our supplies,” McIntyre said, adding it shows how much a strong network of dedicated volunteers can do. In one instance recently, she and her team sent out a whole trailer of supplies to Kamloops, after a Rotarian in Comox offered his trailer for the cause.
“They had an empty trailer, so they thought, ‘hey, why don’t we load it up?’” McIntyre said.
Kamloops is critically-packed with evacuees, so as such, the relief centres there need the most supplies.
Since becoming executive director four years ago, McIntyre brought bigger attention towards local relief efforts, such as her Soap for Hope campaign, which currently helps distribute toiletries and hygiene products to 58 local shelters.
“It wasn’t helping anybody sitting in a warehouse,” she said.
Visit www.disasteraid.ca for details on how to donate, or drop off your donation directly at the Oak Bay Fire Department,1703 Monterey Ave.