Executive Director Cari Leach says it destroyed their garage and in it was the van that is used to transport individuals with disabilities to events and activities, and also to support one individual with his volunteer job which is picking up groceries from the grocery store and delivering them to the Mountain View Food Bank. She adds, also in the garage was all of their individual sporting equipment and the Karaoke machine they use for socials, get togethers, and birthday parties. Leach notes they do have insurance, but it doesn’t cover everything. Leach says “We have started a fundraiser. People can write a check and send it in the mail or even drop by our office. Pandora’s Books has also stepped up to help with our fundraiser. They are donating $1 dollar from every drink sold in May to the Association. We also received a substantial donation from Olds Community Chorus, so I really want to send a huge thank you to those individuals.”
Fundraiser Underway To Help Olds Association For Community Living Recover From Devastating Fire
The Olds Association for Community Living is continuing to try and recover after a fire on April 19th at its location in Uptowne Olds.
Leach says the Olds Association for Community Living supports people with disabilities in their homes, in the community, they support them in employment opportunities and volunteer positions, they offer respite and proprietorship. Basically, she notes they are a non-profit organization so the fire was a huge hit to them, they don’t have a whole bunch of money just sitting around obviously, so it was pretty devastating to them. Leach says “I don’t think we necessarily have a goal in mind. We do want to replace the van, obviously with something that is going to be safe for our individuals to ride in and vehicle prices at this point in time are really, really expensive. What insurance offered for the vehicle is no where near what we are going to need to purchase a vehicle.”
Send e-transfers to support them to fundraiser@OACL.ca or give the Olds Association for Community Living office a call at 403-556-2921.