Community support grows for Shuswap and Okanagan wildfire evacuees

The community has come together to support people who have lost everything in the devastating wildfires in the Okanagan and Shuswap.

This morning, another truckload of supplies arrived at the Central Okanagan Foodbank.

“Last weekend I had heard that the supplies on the shelves of the foodbank were dwindling and we could be facing some severe shortages, so I called the Khalsa Diwan Society in Abbotsford and asked if they could help,” said Mohini Singh, Kelowna city councillor.

Singh says she asked for a pickup truck filled with non-perishables and instead, got much more than she asked for, a semi-truck filled with non-perishable food donations, diapers and more.

“It’s a beautiful thing, it just shows that at the end of the day, we are all in this together, we have to help each other, we have to support each other,” said Singh.

Students of the culinary arts program at Okanagan College have been working together to prepare pre-made meals that just need to be heated up for thousands of evacuees accessing services at the Central Okanagan Foodbank.

“I think we have a lot of resources here, we have learned a lot in the last year of our culinary program so this is a great opportunity to put our skills to the test,” said Alessandra DiMattia.

So far they have made 600 meals for evacuees that will be delivered Friday morning.

Employees at Kot Auto Group Dealerships are shifting their focus from selling cars to raising money for a wildfire relief fund on GoFundMe. 

“Every employee we have knows somebody who was affected by this fire so it’s important for us to give back and ensure those individuals get back on their feet,” said Kevan Threadgill, general manager of Kelowna Kia.

To do that, they are working to raise $500,000.

“The need is high, you can see the devastation throughout the community,” said Threadgill.

To help evacuees get a roof over their heads while they wait to hear when they can return home, the team behind Fraserway RV has come up with a creative way to provide temporary housing.

“Through our partners at Four Seasons RV Rentals, we have made motorhomes available immediately for evacuees, if they do require temporary housing, and we are discounting those rentals by 50 per cent,” said Brennan Garrecht, RV lifestyle consultant at Fraserway RV.

This is just a snapshot of the generosity that has been offered by companies, not-for-profits and anyone with a little extra to give.