Ladysmith’s support for Disaster Aid Canada didn’t stop with the idea.
The born-in-Ladysmith international assistance project is still going strong and a dinner fundraiser next month is aimed at making sure that continues to be the case.
The Ladysmith Rotary Club is hosting Corks & Forks: a Taste of Ladysmith as a fundraiser for Disaster Aid, as well as Soap for Hope and other local community projects.
Disaster Aid Canada was started by the Rotary Club of Ladysmith in 2004 and is associated with Disaster Aid International which has branches in many other countries. It provides disaster aid kits to people displaced by disasters.
Depending on the need the kit may include a three-room tent, tool kits, hygiene kits, warmth and comfort products and a portable water filtration system that can provide a family of 10 a years worth of clean drinkable water.
Disaster Aid Canada also operates Soap for Hope which collects soap and amenities from hotels, then re-processes, packages and distributes them to local shelters, foodbanks, transitional homes, emergency shelters and vulnerable seniors and children, in Ladysmith and elsewhere. Soap for Hope also provide these kits to local and international sites that have been affected by fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes.
Disaster Aid and Soap for Hope provided support for the victims of the Fort McMurray fire in 2016 and more recently responded to the requests of the responders to the massive fires in the interior of BC. Truckloads of donated materials and hygiene kits were sent to the shelters for the families that had to be evacuated from their homes and had to stay in temporary shelters.
The March 16 Taste of Ladysmith event at the Aggie Hall will feature area restaurants, wineries and breweries. There will be music by Soul King Michael Clark and a live auction with terrific items including a two-night stay at the Wickaninnish Inn, a private waterfront barbecue dinner for eight, a sailboat package including lunch and more. Visit the Rotary Club of Ladysmith Facebook page for more information.
Tickets are $25 each and available online through Eventbrite, at the Ladysmith 49th Grocery or through your local Rotarians.