Photo: Fruiticana, one of Western Canada’s largest grocery chains,
has raised $100,000 for the Surrey Hospitals Foundation’s Children’s Health Centre renewal campaign. (From left) Puneet Dhillon, Community Liaison Coordinator, Surrey Hospitals Foundation; Harp Dhillon, Vice Chair, SHF Board of Directors; Sonia Virk, Director, SHF Board of Directors; Tony Singh, President, Fruiticana; Azra Hussain, Chief Operating Officer, Surrey Hospitals Foundation; Don Hickling , Vice President, Leadership Giving, Surrey Hospitals Foundation

Surrey, B.C. (October 23, 2020) – Fruiticana, one of Western Canada’s largest grocery chains, has raised $100,000 for the Surrey Hospitals Foundation’s Children’s Health Centre renewal campaign. Fruiticana raised the money from two in-store fundraising campaigns throughout the year in celebration of Diwali and Vaisakhi. A cheque presentation was held yesterday at the Fruiticana headquarters in Surrey.

As one of the Foundation’s first Community Champions, Fruiticana has continued to give generously to the Foundation’s fundraising campaigns. The Community Champions program was launched in 2019 to spark interest amongst philanthropic businesses who are looking for creative ways to give back to their community.

The Children’s Health Centre at Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is the only health facility in the Fraser Health region dedicated to children’s health and paediatric emergencies, including children’s surgery and cancer programs. SMH has the region’s only children’s emergency department, one of only two in British Columbia. The Children’s Health Centre treats 43 per cent of B.C.’s children who reside in the Fraser Health region, and treated 46,000 children in 2019.

The Foundation is working with the community to raise $6 million to transform the Children’s Health Centre, to add and expand new clinics and services including Neurology, Cardiology & Nephrology (kidney).

Surrey Hospitals Foundation is the largest non-government funder of health care for families in Surrey and surrounding Fraser Valley communities. The Foundation supports the major health facilities in the region, Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) and Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre (JPOCSC), as well as numerous specialized programs for newborns, children, adults and seniors.

The Foundation invests in the future of health care by funding innovative research in Surrey that can lead to medical breakthroughs. https://surreyhospitalsfoundation.com

DIVERSEcity Newcomer Food Hamper program in Surrey launches with support from partner organizations

Food insecurity remains a significant concern during COVID-19. DIVERSEcity’s Newcomer Food Hamper program, generously supported by several partner organizations in Surrey, is trying to help by distributing food hampers to low-income families in Surrey.

With $35,000 from the United Way’s Local Love Food Hub funding, DIVERSEcity’s Newcomer Food Hub is working in partnership with the Surrey Urban Farmers Market ordering produce from the market, paid for through the Farmer’s Market Nutrition Coupon Program). The fresh produce is then organized into hampers, along with additional food supplied from Sources Food Hub.

The hampers are then put together by DIVERSEcity staff and volunteers in partnership with Seeds of Change, working (physically distanced!) from their City of Surrey-sponsored location, the City Centre parkade. (Seeds of Change is supporting several food hubs across Surrey through United Way funding.)

Staff and volunteers came together Saturday, August 8, to sort, fill and distribute hampers. The group was happy but dedicated in their efforts, as they worked hard all morning, despite the rainy weather. Serious co-ordination was needed to ensure each hamper was filled correctly, including abiding by any food restrictions the clients may have.

Leo Ramirez, DIVERSEcity’s Community Kitchen Coordinator, who is organizing DIVERSEcity’s efforts, says, “I love that this is a group effort supporting the community. We are thankful to the many organizations, volunteers and staff that come together to make this work.”

One of those on the front lines was Surrey Urban Farmers Market market manager Anna Hall, who was also grateful to all the partners working together for this important initiative. She explained, “This food hub ensures that these families continue to get the fresh produce and food that they need every week.”

While most food hampers are delivered to families directly, some clients did stop by on Saturday to pick theirs up personally. Their smiling faces and gratitude were just another reminder of how important the team’s efforts were. The food hamper program launched July 25 and will continue to run for 10 to 12 weeks; about 50 hampers have already been sorted and distributed to low-income families, seniors and pregnant women.

“It’s been really valuable learning about how to build good partnerships in food access and food security work,” says Fiona Stevenson, manager of Volunteer & Community Programs, DIVERSEcity. “By partnering with Seeds of Change, we have access to the temporary site in the City Centre parkade each week, and we are also able to get additional items of recovered food from Sources Food Hub to add to all the hampers.

This support through the City of Surrey and Seeds of Change and Surrey Urban Farmers Market has been instrumental to venue, logistics, food access, permissions, staffing and more.” For more information, see www.dcrs.ca or contact kitchen@dcrs.ca.

“We’re proud to lend our support to help seniors living in independent and assisted living communities throughout B.C. by making hand sanitizer more assessible to them through this partnership with Central City Brewers + Distillers and the BC Seniors Living Association,” says George Chayka, BC Lions Football Club Vice President of Business Operations.

“We are very grateful for the initiative and support of Central City Brewers and Distillers and the BC Lions.” said BCSLA CEO Lee Coonfer. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors’ communities have been put under a tremendous amount of strain to acquire the appropriate PPE and sanitizing products in the appropriate quantities to keep their residents safe.

Seniors’ safety is our priority and through the selfless gestures from the community, the tireless work of our employees and acts of corporate social responsibility, we will be able to meet this challenge and get through this together.”

The Red Racer Cruiser 8-pack Mixer includes 500 mL cans of Pils, Hazy Dreamer Pale Ale, Dirty Blonde Ale and Lager, and will be available in private liquor stores throughout B.C. The Central City Hand Sanitizer is also available for purchase (3L and 1L bottles, and in bulk) at all Central City Liquor Store locations and at the brewery store (11411 Bridgeview Drive, Surrey).

$900,000 available in Surrey for charities supporting COVID-19 response

“At Community Foundations of Canada, our purpose to ‘relentlessly pursue a future where everyone belongs’ has never felt more important than it does right now,” said Andrea Dicks, Community Foundations of Canada President. “We’re grateful for the leadership of local community foundations like SurreyCares who have been at the forefront of local response efforts since the pandemic was declared.

Thanks to the Government of Canada’s contribution, our network will be able to unlock even more local impact for organizations serving vulnerable groups, helping us set the stage for more inclusive, resilient and sustainable communities.”

SurreyCares’ vision for Surrey is a giving, connected community. SurreyCares’ mission is to inspire donors, grow endowments and invest in people.