INNISFAIL – Susan and Derek Roy were up early on May 8 to deliver kindness and hope from their central Alberta community to the stricken citizens of Jasper.
Last summer the mountain resort community was devastated by a horrific wildfire from July 22 to Sept. 7.
During last year’s Christmas season Susan’s church, St. Mark’s Anglican Church, donated $1,000 to Jasper’s Coat Rescue Program.
An additional $500 from the church went to the Hinton and District SPCA to support homeless pets.
But more support for Jasper was needed, and Innisfail stepped up.
Earlier this spring two fundraisers were created.
They were led by The Caring Collective; a group of five Innisfail churches that included the Innisfail United Church, Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, Peace Lutheran Church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and St. Mark’s Anglican Church.
“Different people on the committee reached out to people in Jasper,” said Susan, adding the group had its first discussions in the fall on how best to help Jasper.
“We reached out to people in Jasper just to find out what were some of the needs that were happening in the community. “Where were they struggling the most, and how could we support them as a community?”
The first fundraiser was a 50/50 draw that wrapped up on May 4, with proceeds going to the Jasper Food Bank.
The second fundraiser, called Caring for Jasper, was held on April 26 at the Innisfail United Church.
The morning event, which attracted about 150 citizens, was the Pancake Breakfast & Jasper Food Bank Drive, with proceeds going to the Jasper Community Team Society.
“The idea is that the families in Jasper are recovering from the disaster that happened there last summer,” said Susan, chair of The Caring Collective, on April 26.
"And we wanted to contribute something for the youth because they're healing and went through a traumatic time.”
She added the event was also aimed at collecting cash donations and food for the Jasper Food Bank.
As well, dozens of blankets, quilts, afghans and prayer shawls were made by Innisfailians and collected for Jasper’s traumatized citizens.
“The quilts are made by volunteers throughout Innisfail and are fully donated and are going to families that lost their homes,” said Rev. Tammy Allan of the Innisfail United Church. “As people are rehoused, they will get a quilt or a prayer shawl or an Afghan; one per household.”
On May 7, it was time for the Caring Collective to count the donations.
Susan and Derek would then load up their truck for their 428.5 kilometres journey to Jasper to support the victims of the Jasper wildfire.
The truck’s back seat had 83 quilts, afghans, prayer shawls and blankets.
The couple then filled their truck with 60 cubic feet of food and living supplies that were donated by Paul's NoFrills Innisfail.
“We've got instant noodles, chocolates, baby food, paper towels, bath tissues, napkins, toothpaste, crackers, treats, just a little bit of everything,” said Paul Begg, owner of the local NoFrills grocery store, who helped the couple load their truck. “It's just a lot to think about when people lose everything.
“It’s great to be able to do this.”
Susan and Derek also brought cheques totalling $3,307.85; money split almost evenly for the Jasper Community Team Society and Jasper Food Bank Society.
They both know there is still a critically important need in the mountain community.
“It's going to take years for that community to recover, and there's going to be families that are struggling, and we're just trying to do something to help,” said Susan.
