Sally Ann big winner
The Salvation Army is West Kelowna’s Business of the Year.
Directors of the Greater Westside Board of Trade have bestowed that honour on the faith-based group for its efforts to support the community during last summer’s devastating McDougall Creek wildfire.
“It was just felt that everything they did during the wildfire, from rallying all the different organizations to feeding the firefighters and putting up places for people to stay, it was such a huge impact on our community and pulled everyone together in a time of need,” Heather Robinson, the board’s executive director, said Tuesday in an interview.
“We really felt they needed to be recognized,” Robinson said of the Salvation Army, which also won top honours in the Community and Public Service Award category.
The McDougall Creek fire, which broke out Aug. 15, 2023 north of West Kelowna, burned 139 sq.-km of forest, and destroyed or damaged nearly 200 homes in West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, the unincorporated areas north of the city, and Kelowna.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated before the fire was considered to be held on Sept. 22.
At the height of the fire, the Salvation Army was providing more than 1,000 meals a day. Overwhelmed regional officials, who have faced some criticism for their handling of the evacuation crisis, were at one point referring people who wanted to donate food or volunteer in some capacity to the Salvation Army.
Officials also struggled to distribute food vouchers to evacuees in a timely manner, so the Salvation Army provided their own vouchers for food, and for items from the organization’s thrift shop.
Salvation Army Capt. Jennifer Hansen, who was evacuated from her own home, was among members of the group who helped to feed firefighters and other evacuees.
“I’ve said to many people, I can’t put the fire out, but as a team we can come around and feed you and support you,” Hansen told Canadian Press on Aug. 25.
Aside from helping out during emergencies, the Salvation Army chapter in West Kelowna, set up in 2019, holds church services, offers programs for kids and teens, runs community outreach programs, distributes Christmas hampers to needy families, assists immigrants and refugees settling in Canada, and offers meals to needy seniors.