The Helping Hands Society of Cochrane & Area held its most successful food drive to date on April 16.
“In difficult economic times, many more families are in need and, at the same time, we recognize that many families have a reduced capacity to give. We were thrilled with the response that we received today,” said Jackie Shier, executive director of the society, in a thank you letter to volunteers.
Hosted at the Cochrane Alliance Church, the society and its many volunteers spent the day collecting, sorting, and packaging donated food items from the Cochrane area for the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank.
“Last October we collected 830 cartons of nonperishable food and we did even better today with an initial count of 910 cartons along with significant cash donations,” said Shier.
Volunteers were divided into teams to ensure the event ran smoothly and efficiently. Teams were then assigned areas within and around Cochrane to collect food donations left out by residents.
“We continued to receive donations from Monterra and Cochrane Lake and also received donations from both the Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows communities. It is important to note that the Cochrane Food Bank directly supports residents in Cochrane as well as all of Western Rocky View County which includes Springbank, Bragg Creek, Bearspaw, etc.,” Shier continued.
Once the food was collected, it was delivered to the church, which acted as the sorting centre. There, the Cochrane Activettes and other volunteers worked tirelessly to divide the food into proper categories and load it into a truck to deliver to the food bank.
According to the society and its volunteers, only about 30 per cent to 35 per cent of residents in the area participated in the drive. To date, the drive raised about $4,500 in cash donations alongside the food items.
“It was a fun and very rewarding experience. Please accept our heartfelt appreciation for giving so fully to touch the lives of others. The Helping Hands Society links people who help with people who need help and that happened today in a very big way. Thank you,” Shier said.
The society would like to apologize if anyone’s house was missed during the collection process and said people are still able to donate at all of the local grocery stores. If your house was missed, please contact [email protected].
The Helping Hands Society’s next food drive is scheduled for Sept. 17 and will be hosted at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
