Parksville Fire Rescue is asking the community to support the 'Fill the Boots for Food' drive.
Firefighters will collect cash donations for the Salvation Army and new unwrapped toys for the Society of Organized Services (SOS) on Nov. 16 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Nov. 17 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), according to a news release by the fire department.
Firefighters will be at various locations in the city, such as grocery stores, asking residents to generously support the Salvation Army food bank with cash donations. Locations will be announced on social media and the fire department's website.
Each year, residents in the Parksville Fire Protection Area generously support the annual drive and are the reason the food and toy drive is an incredible success.
With $94,070 in cash donated in 2023, this drive and the generosity of residents makes a true difference to many during the holiday season.
The first drive for the Parksville Volunteer Fire Department in 1988 helped stock the Salvation Army’s shelves for Christmas with about 5,000 lbs of food collected door to door. Over the years, local departments joined the campaign and now Parksville Fire participates in the District 69 drive with seven other departments collecting cash donations for the Salvation Army food bank and new unwrapped toys for the SOS.
Donations are extremely important to the Salvation Army food bank and SOS to provide for less fortunate in the community. Donations may also be made as follows:
– SOS is gratefully accepting donations for its Caring for Community at Christmas program. The program provides special gifts for local children and youth, and grocery store gift cards are provided to families, adults and seniors so they may choose food that is meaningful to them over the holidays. Financial donations can be made online at sosd69.com, in person or by phone (250-248-2093), Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. New, unwrapped gifts can be dropped off during the same hours at the SOS Community Services Centre in Parksville (245 Hirst Ave. W) and at Qualicum Commons (744 Primrose St.) in Qualicum Beach.
– Salvation Army food bank donations are accepted at 886 Wembley Rd., Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
