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Abbotsford students’ Red Cross donation for flood recovery tops $21K

Pair’s GoFundMe campaign matched by provincial and federal governments
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Sourav Arora (left) and Jasreet Ghuman raised more than $7,000 for the Canadian Red Cross’s flood-recovery appeal. The donation is being matched by the provincial and federal governments for a total contribution of more than $21,000. (Submitted photo)

Two Grade 12 students who raised more than $7,000 for flood-relief efforts in Abbotsford will see their contribution tripled for the Canadian Red Cross.

Sourav Arora and Jasreet Ghuman, both International Baccalaureate students at Abbotsford Senior Secondary, started a GoFundMe campaign in mid-November after catastrophic flooding hit Sumas Prairie.

They called the campaign “Helping Abbotsford flood victims” and said they started it because “the aftermath of this disaster will leave many in financial distress.”

The pair first held a clothing and food drive at their school and gathered an “astounding amount” of donations in just a few days.

RELATED: B.C., Ottawa to match flood relief donations to Canadian Red Cross

But only some of their donations were accepted at local charities at the time due to an abundance of items collected throughout the community and limited space to store them.

They then turned their efforts to fundraising, and chose the Canadian Red Cross as their recipient. Any donation made to the agency’s B.C. Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal were matched dollar for dollar by the provincial and federal governments until Dec. 26.

This resulted in the GoFundMe total of $7,136 amounting to $21,408 for the Red Cross.

“It was amazing seeing our community come together and help those in need in such difficult times,” Ghuman said.

Arora said the two were “very happy” with the support from the community and across the country.

In February of this year, Arora received a grant from Rising Way and the United Way and used the money to purchase backpacks and fill them with warm clothing and personal hygiene items.

The packs were then donated to youth on the street and at Cyrus Centre in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.

RELATED: Abbotsford student fills and delivers backpacks to vulnerable youth



vhopes@abbynews.com

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Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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