COVID-19 RESPONSE
The Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre’s Board of Directors and staff are pleased to honour team leads Nika Ewald and Sonia Palmer (Smithers) and Carrie Weibe, Jackie Maurer, Emma Bowen (Houston) for successfully distributing over 200 4L jugs of milk to seniors, youth and families in Smithers and Houston.
The milk was a donation from FoodMesh, an organization that aims to avoid food waste and increase food security. We are extremely proud of our staff’s ability to quickly respond to news of this donation and to ensure that the milk was distributed in a timely manner to those who needed it.
Milk distribution occurred on April 4th in Houston and April 9th in Smithers and was the Friendship Centre’s first chance to adapt our methods and create a system to ensure contactless pickup and proper social distancing protocol.
One of our lovely volunteers who came out to help deliver milk to elders and those without access to transportation.
We were pleased to be able to utilize the large space at the Friendship Centre Hall in Smithers to ensure proper social distancing protocols. “At the time we didn’t have floor stickers but were able to place crosses on the floor to ensure proper physical distancing, we made signage, provided hand sanitizer and ensured that clients came in one door and exited the other. The system actually worked very well and it was great to be able to provide free milk to families during this challenging time,” says Nika Ewald, Employment Coordinator, Smithers.
In Houston the program staff made use of the Centre’s parking lot for safe distribution. Emma Bowen, Houston AECD Program Coordinator says, “The families we serve were very grateful to be receiving free milk during a very challenging time. It was a pleasure to be involved in this initiative.”
The Friendship Centre also wishes to acknowledge the wonderful community minded volunteers who came out to help deliver milk so that some of our elders and those without access to a vehicle did not miss out.
We are honoured to serve an amazing community and giving back in all ways we can is part of that success.