One-Of-A-Kind Donation Helps In Times Of Crisis
Saturday, May 5, 2012 @ 6:00 AM
Salvation Army officials and volunteers, Nechako Rotary Club members, and Happy Trails RV reps gather for official unveiling of the new trailer to be used during emergency disaster responses
Prince George, B.C. – The Salvation Army in Prince George is celebrating a special donation which has already been put to work…
A unique bridge funding arrangement involving the Nechako Rotary Club and Happy Trails RV has allowed the local Salvation Army to purchase a Crisis Response Trailer that’s believed to be the first of its kind in Canada. Captain Neil Wilkinson says the Nechako Rotary Club has committed to raising $25-thousand dollars by the end of the year, and Happy Trails RV "kicked in the rest" towards the $44-thousand dollar total purchase price.
Towed behind a truck equipped with full kitchen facilities, the trailer has the cargo capacity to carry 4,000 pounds of supplies, it’s equipped with a washroom and shower facilities and has enough room to sleep up to 10 crisis response volunteers. Wilkinson says the entire unit will enable the Salvation Army to provide service in remote locations throughout its region – which spans from Williams Lake to the Yukon border and the Alberta border to Smithers.The trailer was delivered two weeks ago, and was called into service almost immediately as it was set up at the Lakeland Mill fire on Monday, April 23rd. "We got the call at 10:15 that night," says Captain Wilkinson. "We dispatched out team and we were on site until 10 p.m. the following night, offering coffee, food and pastoral support to the first responders at that tragedy."
The Salvation Army’s BC Director for Emergency Disaster Services, John McEwan, was in Prince George for yesterday’s official unveiling of the unit. "This is the first of its kind in Canada that I’m aware of," he says. "We have a motorhome in Toronto, but it’s nothing like this. You have the capacity to cook, but also to sustain yourself out in the middle of nowhere – it’s a novel idea, it’s wonderful."
McEwan expects that other rural and remote regions across the country may follow suit. "I would say regions that are away from urban centres – when you’re only two hours away, you can always go back for the night," he says. "During the Kamloops and Kelowna fires, it was a 45-minute drive, we’d take the truck back and re-feul it, fill it up with water and all that stuff, but this is a little bit more difficult when you’re six or eight hours away."
Rob Finlayson with Happy Trails RV says he felt it was a worthy cause. "All the pictures from Lakeland showing it in use were very striking – it feels good to have been a part of it. It’s good for us and, obviously, very good for the Salvation Army."
Comments
“This is the first of its kind in Canada that I’m aware of,…”
Way to go! Great community spirit!
Awesome!
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