DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society completed their successful donation drive “Bundle Up Campaign” for refugees at the Surrey Civic Centre Library last week.
Community partners that contributed to its success through offsite donation drives, direct donations and logistical support were: Simon Fraser University, the TD Community Engagement Centre, Fraser Health Authority, Bayridge Elementary, Woodward Hill Elementary, The Immigrant Employment Council of BC, and the TD Canada Surrey Civic City Centre local branch and a group of citizens at Bowen Island who collected 80 boxes and had them freighted by Bowen Island Freight all the way to Surrey.
More than 100 refugee families came through the door to pick up the much-needed items which included medical and dental supplies, toiletries, baby care products, food, new and gently used clothing (including a very generous donation by John Fluevog via the United Way of the Lower Mainland in the form of 150 pairs of shoes) and household items.
DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society’s Moving Ahead Program team assisted with the training and orientation of volunteers, picking up donated items and taking them to the library, sorting items, supervising the donation site and making sure refugee families made their way to the library.
As the longest immigrant serving organization in the Fraser Valley providing refugee-specialized programs, DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society continues to fundraise for the DIVERSEcity Refugee Support Fund to assist refugees from all countries with immediate-term assistance to facilitate their integration into their new communities.
For more information on how you can be involved, contact Tahzeem Kassam, chief operating officer, at 604-547-1274 tkassam@dcrs.ca
For more information, visit www.dcrs.ca
To donate to the Refugee Support Fund, call Neelam Sahota, chief executive officer, at 604-547-1240, email ceo@dcrs.ca, or visit https://www.gofundme.com/p6avwj5g
DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society is a registered charity that has specialized in providing a continuum of settlement and integration supports such as language programs, settlement and community outreach, counselling services including grief and trauma counselling,employment services and early childhood settlement to newcomers in Surrey and Delta since 1978.