Last week, the Yorkton Tribal Council (YTC) stepped up to help evacuees from the fire-ravaged north of the province.
Terri-Ann Lepowick said they collected truckloads of clothes over two days last week, which were sent to evacuee centres in Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nations north of Saskatoon and in Regina.
The collection continues until the end of the day today at the basement of the SIGN building on Broadway Street West.
Lepowick said they obviously won’t turn anything away, but the centres are well-fixed for clothes. What they particularly need is baby stuff including diapers and formula and non-perishable food items.
In addition to collecting goods, the YTC Social Committee put up $3,000 in cash and challenged local businesses to match. So far, none have matched the monetary donation, but Walmart put up $200 and Superstore and Harvest Meats made in-kind donations of foodstuffs.
Juanita Polegi, executive director of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce praised YTC for its leadership.
“It’s a great initiative,” she said. “There’s lots fo people who want to donate but don’t know how to go about doing it, so congratulations to the Tribal Council for taking that initiative.”
Meanwhile, Guardian Angel Animal Rescue has turned its attention to providing relief to the pets affected by the fires. They are collecting dry pet food, leashes, kennels, cat litter and beds/blankets.
Donations can be made to Guardian Angel, 366 Broadway Street West.
At the provincial level, PotashCorp committed Tuesday to provide up to $100,000 for relief efforts aimed at helping evacuees, beginning with support for local activities.
In the short term, the company dedicated approximately $20,000 to help local emergency services teams in Saskatoon and Regina, as well as provide transportation, shelter, food and local activities through organizations including the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Other relief items include Access Communications announcing it will credit its evacuee customers fort the entire period. Brad Wall announced a similar rebate for SaskPower and SaskEnergy customers.
