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Cariboo supply hub continues to offer wildfire relief

Cariboo Fires Food Supply Hub collecting donations and storing donations for people in need
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Volunteer Michael Gent unloads donated goods and household items at the old arena in 100 Mile House, where the supplies will be stored long-term until they are needed. Melissa Smalley photo.

By Melissa Smalley

Volunteers behind a fire-relief effort in the South Cariboo are formulating plans to offer long-term aid after securing a space to store goods donated to those affected by this summer’s wildfires.

The Cariboo Fires Food & Supply Hub recently moved its collection of furniture, household items, food and other goods to the old ice rink in 100 Mile House, where volunteers expect the items will stay until they are needed by those who have lost their homes.

Michael Gent, who spearheaded the effort to collect, distribute and store the supplies, tells the 100 Mile Free Press that although people have been eager to help over recent weeks, the need is going to stretch well into next year.

“We realize it might take three months, it might take a year until people are at a place where they can take things like furniture,” Gent, a former Fort McMurray resident, says regarding the need for a long-term storage space. “We learned from Fort Mac that if you don’t take (donations) when it’s fresh in people’s minds, they won’t offer it in six months.”

Through a Facebook page Gent created, offers of goods and furniture have been coming in from far and wide, prompting a call for gas cards or monetary donations to help bring items up from the coast.

“Or if anyone has a trailer lying around and they’d like to help pick up a load, that would be great, too,” Gent notes.

While volunteers don’t have access to information about who lost their home this summer, Gent is relying on word of mouth through social media to establish a list of those throughout the CRD and TNRD who are in need of assistance.

He encourages those affected to reach out through Facebook or contact him directly, and he will do his best to help.

The need for help, he notes, is not just with those who lost their homes, but for many who were affected financially by being out of work during the evacuation.

“Even if you came home to a house, everyone lives paycheck to paycheck these days. It doesn’t take long for people to get financially behind,” he says. “Unfortunately, the way the government works, ESS and Red Cross are limited to how much they can do… just because the official places have shut down, doesn’t mean there isn’t help out there.”

Gent admits he hadn’t planned on taking such an important role with the supply hub; his involvement began with what was supposed to be temporary supply collection and distribution during the height of the crisis in July.

He notes the organization helps to fill a void left behind by the official government channels that he says aren’t reaching everyone in need.

Any residents or families who are having a hard time making ends meet are encouraged to reach out, he says.

Among the collection of goods being stored at the ice rink are 1,000 brand new pillows donated by a company in Fort McMurray, which Gent is hoping to sell for $10 each to help with fire relief.

“If we sell all of them for $10 each, that’s potentially $10,000 that can go to help,” Gent says, noting he has already donated several pillows to local organizations who needed them.

As the supply hub continues to grow with more donations – and more people and families who are in need of them – Gent is working on registering the group as non-profit organization.

If the registration process goes according to plan, the group will be renamed Pocket of Change, which Gent says has a double meaning.

“A little bit of change can financially make a huge difference in someone’s life,” he says. “And a little bit of change in how things are done can also have a big impact.”

To find out more about the Cariboo Fires Food & Supply Hub, visit their Facebook page or call Gent at 250-644-4368.