On November 25, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) Board elected its Chair and Vice-Chair for the coming year. Resort Municipality of Whistler Director Jen Ford is the new Board Chair, taking the helm from Electoral Area D Director Tony Rainbow. You can read the news release here: https://www.slrd.bc.ca/inside-slrd/news-events/regional-district-board-names-new-chair-and-vice-chair

In her first Message from the Chair, Councillor Ford invites us to reflect on how tough it must be right now, if you’re struggling to make ends meet. Let’s help where we can. The Squamish Lillooet Regional District has established a fund for food banks through the region – your donations can be directed to the community of your choice, the SLRD will handle all administrative costs, and your donation is tax deductible.

Message from SLRD Board Chair – Feed the Need

via https://www.slrd.bc.ca/inside-slrd/notices/other-notices/message-slrd-board-chair-feed-need

This time of the year can be stressful for many, with added pressures of the holiday season and the extra expenses that often come with it.

COVID-19 has added an extra layer of stress to everyday life and as B.C. battles its second surge of the virus, the strain is becoming more and more palpable.

Think of how you’re feeling right now – with the COVID uncertainty facing us all – and try to imagine the extra pressure of not being able to purchase enough food for your family, or maybe not being able to pay your heating bill or put fuel in the car. Sadly, this is the reality for many who find themselves, through no fault of their own, struggling to make ends meet.

In the spring, when COVID-19 was first taking hold, the SLRD worked with its member municipalities and the Sea to Sky Community Services Society to launch the Feed the Need Campaign – a fundraising effort to help raise money for food banks in our communities – from Squamish, all the way to Lillooet.

I am so pleased, and grateful, to be able to report that this campaign has been a success, helping to raise thousands of dollars for our local food banks. Thanks to you, families have been able to access this important service. But food banks are traditionally stretched to the limit – in any community. There is almost always more demand than there is supply and COVID-19 has exacerbated that need exponentially.

And so, I am appealing to each and every one of you, who is able to do so, to please consider a donation to the Feed the Need campaign, to continue to help ease the burden felt by so many. It’s simple to contribute via the Sea to Sky Community Services website (https://www.sscs.ca/feed-the-need/) and every little bit really does help.

Thank you.

Jen Ford
Chair, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District