The Elk Valley Thrift Shop Society (EVTSS) is sending monthly donations to Filipinos in need, many of which are currently going towards residents affected by severe flooding in the municipalities of Isabela and Cagayan.
“It’s important to give no matter what,” said Katrin Taylor, manager of the Elk Valley Thrift Shop.
“It’s a feel good thing for us, we’re always about helping people and you know, the pictures of the kids smiling with a Frank J. Mitchell Elementary School shirt on proves to us that it’s gone from point a to point b.”
The donation program has been in operation since the EVTSS opened in 2013, having been originally overseen by Sparwoodian Veronica Aragones, however more recently is administrated by Elkford local Marissa Witawit.
“(Marissa) is from Elkford, she’s Filipino, and she’s got connections over seas to send shipments to the Philippines – what we do is give her everything to fill the box plus we pay for the postage to get it there,” said Taylor.
The EVTSS donates a number of products to those in need, sending over whatever they feel would benefit the recipients most including a variety of clothes as well as school supplies for children.
“The villages she’s shipping it to, the schools and that, are higher up in the Philippines so they can actually use some of our warmer clothes which is good,” said Taylor.
Some of the EVTSS’s more recent donations have also gone towards Filipino families that recently arrived in Canada.
“It turned out that there was some Filipino families that had just come over and they were in need of some clothing and Marissa asked if it would be alright if she used some of the clothing that is supposed to go overseas for these people, and of course we said yes absolutely – anybody that is in need can get what they need,” said Taylor.
Though the donations get taken out of the EVTSS’ inventory, anyone looking to donate directly to the Philippines can reach out to the EVTSS or Witawit via the EVTSS’s Facebook page.
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