Western’s Terrace team was delighted to present their 2019 fundraising efforts to the Search and Rescue Association (SARs). This investment from Western Financial Group and other sources will help provide SARs with a larger location.
Vivian Raposo, branch manager in Terrace, said, “the new building will afford them the ability to have everything together and finally be able to train their volunteers all in one location.”
Vivian also mentioned that the $2,648.75 donated will greatly assist SARs quicken their response time to emergencies.
David Jepson, deputy chief of the Terrace Fire Department and volunteer with SARs, expressed that: “The idea behind the new space was to eliminate having rescue equipment stored in four spots and even storing these items in our own homes…it is a bit of a problem. Now we’ll be going from a 2,000 sq. ft. space into a 9,600 sq. ft. area. The big thing here for us is to be able to train and prosper.”
David specified that when Vivian reached out to him in early 2019 expressing their interest in contributing to SARs as their annual donation recipient, that it was very emotional for him because it comes from the right place.
The Terrace brokerage spent the year fundraising through the sales of poinsettias, garage sales, and book sales, while utilizing the Western Communities Foundation.
As the plan rolls out, SARs will begin work immediately to move to their new space and have all their gear under one roof.
“It’s going to be phenomenal, last weekend we had three search and rescue calls within 24 hours. As we move forward having all of our vehicles and equipment under one roof will eventually cut down our emergency response time.”
This is a momentous new start for SARs to continue to support rescues in British Columbia.
