Grants totalling $400,000 CAD/$313,151 USD given to MDS Canada for flood-related work in B.C.

Three grants worth $400,000 CAD/$313,160 USD will enable Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada to help homeowners affected by last November’s floods in B.C.

A grant of $210,000 CAD/$164,400 USD was given by Fraserway RV in Abbotsford, B.C., through its Adventurer Foundation, to assist with repair and reconstruction efforts in the Fraser Valley.

“We appreciate the important work being done by MDS and are glad to attach our support and encourage the support of others,” said James Epp, CEO of Fraserway RV.

“We wish MDS Canada and all the many volunteers that will be involved with this important work the very best.”

A grant of $100,000 CAD/$78,290 USD was provided by the Abbotsford Community Foundation to help MDS repair four homes in the Fraser Valley.

“The Abbotsford Community Foundation along with our coalition partners, the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce and the University of the Fraser Valley, are pleased to provide this support to MDS,” said Foundation Executive Director Wendy Neufeld.

“From the early days of the crisis, our goal has been to provide funding to those who are most affected through the establishment of the Abbotsford Disaster Relief Fund, in an effort to bring wholeness and recovery to the lives that have been impacted,” she said.

“The work of MDS accomplishes that goal with a ‘boots on the ground’ approach that will provide options to families who, otherwise, would not have had good paths forward.”

Also providing funding for work in B.C. is Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR), with a grant of $90,000 CAD/$70,461 USD.

“We are happy to partner again with MDS Canada, a trusted, experienced partner in restoring hope for survivors of natural disasters,” said CLWR Executive Director Karin Achtelstetter.

“MDS has a breadth and depth of experience in disaster response in the Canadian context, so it was only logical for us to work with them again.”

Funds for the grant came from Lutherans across Canada who donated to help people impacted by the floods in B.C.

For Ross Penner, Director of Canadian Operations, the grants from the three organizations are gratefully received.

“We are thankful for this support, which will help us to help people impacted by the floods in B.C. to get back home. These grants will go a long way toward enabling us to achieve that goal.”

Recovery work in the Fraser Valley and in Princeton is being done jointly by MDS Canada and Mennonite Central Committee B.C., which entered into a partnership agreement to respond to the floods that hit B.C. last November.

John Longhurst, MDS Canada Communications