SGI Canada and the Canadian Red Cross in Saskatchewan have partnered to help people who have been impacted by disasters in the province.
“SGI Canada is proud to support our communities and the Red Cross, and help in times of need,” Minister Responsible for SGI Joe Hargrave said in a statement.
“The Red Cross really focuses on the first 72-hours of a natural disaster and having a flood clean-up kit is very vital and in cases where there are floods, it allows people to proceed immediately with the clean-up,” said Jan Radwanski, the outreach coordinator, disaster management for the Canadian Red Cross.
“SGI’s partnership with the Red Cross here gives people hope right away, we get the call and we can get these kits out in a relatively short period of time.”
SGI Canada presented a cheque to the Canadian Red Cross on May 30 for $35,000 to be used towards the partnership, with $25,000 for flood clean-up kits, assistance for families with long-term recovery needs and ongoing Red Cross emergency preparedness and awareness efforts.
“These fundings are going towards the purchase of 200 kits and also going toward the purchase of family assistance. With regards to Red Cross, we provide clothing and food assistance if they’re unable to return to the house as well, or accommodation,” Radwanski said.
An additional $10,000 will be provided for equipment and necessities.
Radwanski said the funding is very important as it gives the Canadian Red Cross an opportunity to very quickly reach out to people that are calling for assistance.
“With flooding, it’s very traumatic for a family or individual to go through that and when a clean-up kit arrives, from my personal experience, it allows them to get to where they can focus on recovery and not dwell that the event has happened and gives them some hope to get that house or apartment clean right away,” Radwanski said.
SGI Canada is also providing an opportunity for the Red Cross to access a list of SGI volunteers to help with disaster efforts under the Red Cross Ready When the Time Comes program.
The volunteer work may include helping with set-up and take-down at evacuation shelters, handing out supplies, assisting with outings and field trips for evacuees, helping entertain the kids in shelters among others that will be identified by the Red Cross.
“We all know that when a disaster hits, quick action is key and it’s all hands on deck,” said Cindy Fuchs, vice-president of Canadian Red Cross Saskatchewan. “So being able to provide people with clean-up kits immediately, and quickly schedule SGI volunteers, means we can be more responsive when people need help the most. SGI Canada is one of the first companies to enter a partnership for disaster recovery, providing both financial and volunteer recovery support for families affected by disasters.”
The government said clean-up kits were provided to 15 families who were impacted by wildfires on the Standing Buffalo First Nation near Fort Qu’Appelle earlier this month. The kits were used in clean-up efforts for evacuated homes that survived the fires but were impacted by the smoke.
“In a case in Moose Jaw last night, there was a hail storm in the north part of the city and it did result in some drainage being blocked and some families did suffer some basement flooding, so they would call us and we would then proceed with an analysis of the situation, and it looks like possibly later today we will be getting some flood kits out to Moose Jaw if the call comes,” Radwanski said.
A logistics team who is familiar with the contents of the kit handles the distribution of the kits, according to Radwanski, who added that the kits are user-friendly and include instructions on how to use everything inside.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to give back to our communities by working with an established, trusted and respected disaster response organization like the Red Cross,” Hargrave said.
SGI Canada is the trade name of the property and casualty insurance division of SGI and offers products in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Products are sold through a network of independent insurance brokers.