PWRDF sending funds to Territory of the People to aid BC wildfire
July 19, 2017
By Janice Biehn
PWRDF is sending an initial grant of $5,000 to the Diocese of Territory of the People (formerly Diocese of the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior) to support their ongoing immediate relief efforts for the B.C. wildfires. These funds, along with $5,000 approved from the Diocese, will augment ongoing relief expenses.
Bishop Barbara Andrews has appointed the Right Reverend Gordon Light (retired) to liaise with PWRDF and oversee disbursed funds. The Diocesan grant is paying for food vouchers, toiletries, bus fare, clothing etc., whatever is of practical help, writes Bishop Light in an email to PWRDF.
“I expect that these funds will be quickly depleted. All of the people of 100 Mile House and Williams Lake, as well as smaller communities along the Cariboo Highway, have been evacuated. Most have come to either Kamloops in the south or Prince George in the North. Most evacuees left their homes with very little, and we don’t know how long it will be until they get home. In Kamloops, there are three major centres set up to register and house evacuees. We have volunteers, both clergy and lay, who are helping in these places. In Prince George, similar centres are operating. There are also a number of people in private homes, and the elderly or those with breathing problems are in places where they can receive specific help. The air quality in the interior of B.C. has been really poor for some days now.”
Bishop Light writes that the $5,000 grant from PWRDF will help support these immediate needs, but notes that in the longer term, funds may also be required to support post-trauma assistance. “And there may be specific projects that we can identify that would assist people/communities in which there has been loss of homes or facilities.”
PWRDF encourages donations to its emergency fund which will be used to support needs in British Columbia. Donations can be made via credit card over the phone (toll free at 1-866-308-7973), or online at our Canada Helps page at pwrdf.org/donate. Choose Emergency Response from the drop down menu.
You can also mail a cheque to The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, The Anglican Church of Canada, 80 Hayden Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2. Please note “Emergency Response” on your cheque.
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