Flood relief donations surpass $50,000 goal
A temporary food depot set up last week to aid West Island flood victims surpassed the goal of its organizers.
Leanne Bayer, executive director of West Island Community Shares, said more than $50,000 in donations was collected for flood relief, while hundreds of volunteers collected then sorted out food and other sundries that were shipped out to local food banks.
“It was a huge success,” said Bayer, who helped organize the Neighbours in Need emergency food drive at the Plaza PointeClaire after it relocated from its original location at the Fairview shopping centre.
Bayer credited Rhonda Massad of Beaconsfield with kick-starting the grassroots effort earlier last week to provide much-needed emergency relief at the height of the flood.
Massad opened the depot at Fairview for three days before passing the torch last Thursday to the Plaza Pointe-Claire crew, who continued collecting food till Saturday afternoon.
“Rhonda is a force — she kickstarted this whole food depot and got everything running,” said Bayer, who also praised the efforts of an unsung “army of citizen volunteers” who came by the depot to lend a helping hand.
“We estimate we had 140 volunteers each day,” said Bayer. “It was insane.”
Bayer said West Island Community Shares will convene a board meeting shortly to decide how it will dole out the relief fund.
“We called it Neighbours in Need; it’s a flood relief fund. West Island Community Shares is not in a position to give it out to individuals because we’re just not set up for that, but what we do is work with local non-profit groups in the West Island,” said Bayer, who was overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support.
“It was a major success for so many different reasons,” she said. “One, we mobilized as a community. We asked people to donate food and toiletries and we got more than we could have ever imagined. But also for other reasons. Every day the food banks gave us feedback on what they needed — whether it was Band-Aids or other items — and we’d post on Facebook specific things and people would bring in whatever we needed.”
The main recipients of the emergency food depot were West Island Mission, On Rock and the West Island Assistance Fund.
Anne Lajoie, special projects coordinator for West Island Community Shares, said volunteers were flocking to the Pointe-Claire shops all weekend.
“I saw a pregnant women pushing a stroller with a toddler, and she was laden with food to drop off. You had seniors who put $5 in the donation box and then said, ‘I’m sorry that’s all I can do.’ You know its all going to help,” Lajoie said.
Bayer pointed out that “100 per cent of the fund goes to flood relief so we don’t touch penny. We’re really just passing through.”
Added Lajoie, “You know the West Island is an amazing community. You won’t find this everywhere.”