Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Jill Sperling

Non-profit Support

“We didn’t know what we were going to do”: Kamloops non-profits navigate pandemic trials, triumphs

Feb 23, 2021 | 5:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — Charitable organizations have been on the frontlines for helping people in need over the last year.

The pandemic arrived as a great unknown. As Kamloops businesses closed their doors and store shelves were depleted of certain foods and supplies, charitable organizations stepped in to help, unsure of how to provide for a greater need.

“We literally, for the first two weeks, couldn’t see the end of our line and it was snaking through two blocks down the road,” said Bernadette Siracky, executive director of the Kamloops Food Bank. “We didn’t know what we were going to do in regards to supplying that much food to people.”

The Kamloops Food Bank cut its volunteer base by 75 per cent and quickly instituted new safety protocols. Despite great uncertainty, the donations began to roll in.

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“As all of the restaurants closed, they went into their coolers and started bringing all of their perishable product to the food bank so that we could distribute it to people and to agencies in town that make meals,” Siracky said.

The Food Bank is among numerous organizations that have had to move their fundraisers online instead of holding them in-person.

Some of these fundraisers have seen more success than other, such as the YMCA-YWCA’s Dream Home Lottery.

“The 2020 lottery was crazy busy and raised the most money ever,” said Kamloops Y CEO Colin Reid.

The Kamloops Y shut down both facilities in the early weeks of the pandemic, cut staff and braced for a challenging financial situation. But, with the help of government subsidies, a record-breaking lottery and a focus on cost savings as the facilities reopened, the Y was able to weather the storm.

“You know, 2019 was a disaster for us fiscally,” Reid said. “We were on a $5 million budget, we were half a million dollars below the line and in 2020 we were $200,000 above the line.”

Other organizations haven’t fared as well. Interim Executive Director of the United Way TNC Katie Neustaeter says there is a need to stabilize the sector.

“How do we level that playing field a little bit so that those who don’t have the resources to market loudly or to be really visible in the community — how do we ensure that they’re seen and that those needs are met?” Neustaeter asked. “Often those are really niche needs, something really specific that might not be really loud or really known, but do meet absolutely critical needs of individuals or families.”

Throughout the pandemic, the United Way has been tasked with distributing government and community funds to the non-profit organizations most impacted by COVID-19.

“It’s not enough just to meet that immediate need,” Neustaeter said, “we need to go back and look at the root issues and that’s a critical piece of the work that we’re doing here at United Way, is taking a look and saying, ‘How do we be preventative? How do we be proactive?’

“We don’t want these social issues to keep snowballing because people are being hurt and people are slipping through the cracks and that’s just not acceptable.”