The Compassion Society of Halton has a new set of wheels, thanks to funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
A $60,000 capital grant and a $155,400 Resilient Communities Fund grant are going towards a new Ford van and to hire a new employee for the charity.
“Having a van is integral in being able to pick up food and clothing, and to be able to distribute it,” said O’neil Edwards, executive director of the Compassion Society. “This way, we have the resources to be able to give to our community. Anyone within the Halton community can come in and pick up some food and clothing for free.”
The Compassion Society did have a van before this one, but Edwards says it stopped moving before the team even applied for these grants.
“It had done its yeoman’s work,” Edwards says.
During a short ceremony on Friday morning, Edwards and MPP Natalie Pierre spoke to about two dozen volunteers outside the Compassion Society's Burlington (Fairview Street) location, all while donations continued to roll in to the drop-off centre just a few feet away.
“This funding from the Ontario Trillium Fund helps support the initiatives and service for the most vulnerable members of our community,” Pierre said. “It’s great to see the Trillium Foundation, which is an agency of the provincial government, recognize the need for a van and fund the Compassion Society to give them the resources they need to continue to do great work.”
Since the van was acquired about two months ago, it has already made several trips around town, and up to neighbouring municipalities to pick up and drop off supplies.
In the two months since the purchase, about 5,000 kilometres have been put on the new van, said driver and operations and warehouse manager Akeel Ghir.
“As the needs of the society grew, the number of pickups and drop-offs grew as well,” Ghir noted. “As such, the van has become very necessary.”
Ghir has taken excess food that the Compassion Society won’t be able to use to Hamilton and Kitchener to help support other food banks. He added that the number of trips in a week and the distance they need to drive will likely make the odometer skyrocket on the new vehicle.
Since 2016, the Compassion Society has served more than 37,000 clients in Halton, distributing more than $4 million worth of food and $2 million worth of clothing to those in need. In just the last eight months, the society has seen a 59 per cent increase in demand for food, self-care items and referrals to special services.
“That number of clients is only individual clients; it does not include families,” Edwards said. “People are making hard choices and we’re just doing our part to make life a bit more livable.”
