229887
222576
Vernon  

United Way donates car seats, baby care packages to families in need

Giving families a boost

United Way is pulling through in a big way for families in the Okanagan by coordinating a region-wide charity drive for those in need.

The delivery truck made its first stop in Vernon Tuesday morning, dropping off various items at the Boys & Girls Club parking lot. From there, the items were organized into separate piles to be distributed to other organizations in the city.

"Poverty is something the United has been tackling for many years, and it's something that has really exacerbated because of the pandemic," says Jude Brunt, events manager for United Way. "Many more people are starting to face poverty now due to job loss or reduced hours, so these care packages for young families are needed more than ever."

The North Okanagan will be receiving 53 car seats, 36 large cases of diapers, 36 large tins of formula and 324 packages of wipes from the United Way. The car seats are a regular part of the drive each year, but the care packages are new this year thanks to some fortunate circumstances.

"We had an extra injection of funding from the government as part of Emergency Community Support Fund, which enabled us to expand our level of care," says Brunt.

The drive will continue into the rest of the Okanagan later this week, delivering car seats and care packages to local charity organizations.



More Vernon News

233021