Recent History – 2000
March 6, 2000
DAWSON CREEK — The Salvation Army’s new family services centre is taking shape. Volunteers are stocking shelves, cleaning windows, installing dividers, and generally getting the centre in shape for the grand opening, set for Saturday March 11, at 2 p.m.
The biggest difference between the old location and the new one, at 1019-103rd Ave., next to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, is space. Instead of a small room at the Salvation Army Church, the centre now has two floors of space in what used to be the T&S Sports store. Not only does that mean more room for items donated to the emergency food services program, but it also gives the centre a chance to provide more help in other areas.
“Over there, we just basically met the needs of giving them food and that was it,” said community resource director Paulette Flavelle. “Now if there’s other problems there’s help with that.”
New services may include helping people fill out forms, working on resumes and job search skills, and getting legal advice.
When the Salvation Army learned that the location next to the Thrift Store opened up, they leapt at the chance to take it over. “We were lucky that it was open and that it was for sale,” Flavelle said.
But it’s not cheap. The Dawson Creek church had to borrow from Salvation Army headquarters and it also means that they’re running a tight budget for the year. Operating on about $70,000 to $75,000, Flavelle said that means they’re paying for the wages of the one person and the expenses of the building.
“The rest has to be all volunteers,” she said.
Moreover, the annual Christmas campaign came up about $20,000 short of its goal. “So we were hoping that will come in toward the end of the year,” she said.
Along with donations of time and money, Flavelle said the Salvation Army would also appreciate donations of items. Along with the usual array of food items, they’re looking for furniture and computer equipment.
“Lot’s of people don’t have access to computers,” she said. “If we can get a few, they can be used to type out resumes.”