B.C. non-profit collects donations to help wildfire evacuees

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A B.C. non-profit is collecting donations to support those affected by wildfire evacuation orders in the province.

United Way British Columbia’s (UWBC) Wildfire Recovery Fund helps provide basic needs such as food and water, gas gift cards, food vouchers, blankets, and sleeping bags for people to safely leave their community and arrive at an evacuation site.

The non-profit also provides therapeutic summer pop-up camps for kids while their parents or caregivers figure out next steps and apply for support, says Kim Winchell, UWBC’s provincial director of community impact and investment.

“We also support with navigation. How does somebody navigate the system to get the support they need? We provide that [help],” Winchell says. “Lastly is recovery. When the smoke clears, [we’re] supporting people to return back into their community with mental health supports, connections, [and] community dinners.”

UWBC looks into how affected individuals can have everything they need emotionally for going back to their community, while also looking into how to support them if they cannot return to their community, as was the case following the wildfire that burned the Village of Lytton in 2021, she adds.

As of Aug. 25, there are 313 active wildfires, 6 evacuation orders, and 10 evacuation alerts in the province. UWBC’s current emergency response grant is open to agencies providing immediate support in regions including Thompson Cariboo Nicola, Shuswap, and the North, Central, and South Okanagan, among others.

This year’s fundraising goal is $1 million, Winchell says, adding the non-profit raised $2 million last year to help with the wildfires that hit the Okanagan and Shuswap the hardest.

“Hopefully we don’t see those massive needs of $2 million, but we’re certainly still seeing a lot of needs coming in from the thousands that are still evacuated,” she says.

As of mid-August, Winchell says UWBC has supported about 25 organizations who are on the ground providing help.

United Way BC has been running the fund for the past four years to support those who are affected by wildfires and other climate-related emergencies.

“Last year, I met a family who lost their home twice now in the last three years. Just devastation, the memories, and the hardships that come with that. So it’s so important for British Columbians to look at what they can contribute,” Winchell says. “Small, big, medium — every amount helps. We’re just so grateful, and I’m always so humbled and inspired by the generosity of British Columbians.”

UWBC also released the results for its Period Promise campaign, where financial and menstrual product donations were collected in May to address period poverty in the province.

The campaign received more than 500,000 menstrual products and $56,000 in donations with the help of over 80 workplaces, unions, and community organizations.

The BC Centre for Women in the Trades, BC Ferries, City of Courtenay, and Teck Highland Valley Copper (HVC) joined more than 50 organizations who signed UWBC’s Period Promise Policy Agreement, which calls on providing access to free period products in the workplace and public washrooms for anyone who menstruates.

For the first time this year, the provincial government declared May 28 “Menstrual Health Day.”

There were also more volunteers who helped out during this campaign compared to last year, Winchell says, with over 250 people completing tasks such as packing and driving out the products.

She also says she hopes to have 700 volunteers and collect one million products next year.

“I just think the amount of engagement [is] something we can build off on. I’m hoping for next year to … also look at [creating policies] where we don’t need as much product because we’re getting it in other ways,” Winchell says.

“The other piece that really came up is reusable products and this is part of the environment as well. So how are we thinking about reusable products? How are we promoting it? How are we providing the right education so that people can use it, which also has the double impact in terms of we’re also creating environmental impact.” 

While United Way is not collecting period products at the moment, people can give monetary donations online or reach out to UWBC to find out which non-profit closest to them accepts products year round.

To donate to the Wildfire Recovery Fund or Period Promise, visit www.uwbc.ca. To find UWBC wildfire relief volunteer opportunities, visit www.ivolunteer.ca.