Brentwood Cares – in the Herald!:

https://calgaryherald.com/news/calgarians-collect-food-cash-for-covid-19-infected-meat-plant-workers/wcm/72d5f7b9-6db2-4e10-b79c-c1ceea7202f2/

ORGANIZER’S BLOG:

Saturday update from Liza on Sunday Morning:

Good morning!

What a busy and uplifting day yesterday! I’ve provided a summary below in case we want to send to the Brentwood group.  Interestingly, soon after our Brentwood Cares meeting, I received a call that multiple households in Brooks were in quarantine due to Covid and without food or basic supplies. Migrante and the Assembly began organizing right away, with my house as a drop off point. Since we didn’t have a chance for another Brentwood meeting to provide an update. That of course did not stop many of our neighbours (including those on this list!) from dropping by. In fact, many neighbours read about it and came by to contribute from our neighbourhood and other areas, including Edgemont, Thorncliff, Banff Trail, Varsity etc.

By the way, the Herald came by to take a picture while we were sorting the boxes (Cam arrived at that time).  Asked them to please put in a plug for Brentwood Cares and gave him a flyer!! Brentwood is an amazing community and your dedication is a big part of this! (THANK YOU!)

On another note, being outside in the yard for 9 hours allowed me to connect with some many neighbours. The senior that often comes with her daughter for library staples (I offered her some special stuff that had just been donated… instant coffee is a big hit by the way); a single mom and her daughter who are out of work (she cleaned out the library plus I brought her extras); a few seniors who stopped by… one saying that he was on a fixed income and was thrilled to get some of the candy treats… and the list goes on.

Update on support of workers in Brooks below (this was sent through to the Assembly)

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Our five vans and cars are loaded and on the way to Brooks with wonderful staples, meat, veggies, gift cards, cleaning supplies and protective gear!  UFCW dropped off 100 gift cards of $25 to supplement what we have.

I cannot describe how beautiful it was to see people arriving on our doorstep yesterday from 11am to late evening with gifts of care and smiles, with thoughtful contributions and even meaningful cards to boost the spirits of people they have never met.

As the sun was setting, a group of you arrived to pack and organize boxes as more food was still coming in. People from all walks of life dropped by, neighbours from Brentwood, folks from other communities who I never met and of course members of the Assembly of Social Workers. The Calgary Herald/Sun dropped by to take a picture of our packing group while we finalized the hampers.

And all the while, my email is being filled with e-transfers (even this morning) and offers to help. People want a chance to reconnect with our common human imperative: to live with purpose and live interdependently.  That is the optimist “Liza” on this spring day.