SHARE’s Just Desserts

SHARE’s corporate donations down

Times are tough, but the worst is yet to come. That’s the prediction of Joanne Granek, executive director of the SHARE Family & Community Services Society, who anticipates the economic downturn will hit even harder six months from now.

At Port Coquitlam’s council meeting Monday night, Granek said SHARE has seen a growing number of people using its food bank and other services.

“We are expecting that the increases we are seeing now are just the beginning because we hear more and more stories of people who are receiving layoff notices but they haven’t hit yet,” she said, adding that SHARE’s Christmas hamper program helped 11-per-cent more recipients this year.

Granek said she expects higher demand for all of SHARE’s community services due to the economic climate combined with the continued growth of the Tri-Cities.

“We would prefer, quite frankly, that more of our citizens would be able to be independent of things like non-market housing and food banks, but we hope to be there if more of them are coming so that we can support them,” she said.

“As people feel the pinch, as they experience more of the stress, there may be other ways we can help them to seek ways to have a healthy life.”

As the demand for services continues to rise, Granek said Tri-Cities residents have stepped up to help the non-profit organization meet the community’s growing needs.

“The place where we’re seeing a decrease in donations is more through corporate sponsorship. We have been quite amazed at the generosity of residents and citizens in the community,” she said.

“There may be a decrease in the number of people who can give largely, but there’s an increase in the number of people who are giving small amounts. And for us, that is important because that will give us greater sustainability.”

Board chair John Wolff added that SHARE’s social programs actually help the economy, since most of the organization’s $5-million annual budget is spent locally on goods and services, as well as on advertising and transportation.

“Our programs and services help to enhance and strengthen families and communities in the areas that we operate. We are also a contributor to the economic health and development in those communities,” Wolff said.

Between April 2007 and March 2008, SHARE Family & Community Services:

- Supported 64,000 people.

- Provided food to 5,598 people (1,142 households) through its three food banks. Forty-five per cent of recipients were under 19 years old, up by eight per cent over the previous year.

- Provided non-market housing to 187 children and youth, 193 adults and 30 seniors. About 500 households are waiting for an opportunity to live in one of SHARE’s 145 non-market housing units, all located in Port Coquitlam.

- Provided 1,984 adults and 1,564 children and youth with food and toys at Christmas.

- Supported 11,850 callers through the crisis line, including 19 people thinking about suicide.

- Provided addictions counselling to 685 adults and 292 youth.

- Received help from 885 volunteers who contributed 51,389 hours of service, equivalent to 28 full-time jobs that would cost more than $1.1 million.

- Received $542,001 in community donations.

– Information taken from SHARE’s annual report

Jennifer Mcfee, Coquitlam NOW

2007 / 08 SHARE Annual Report

SHARE’s 2007 / 08 Annual Report offers great insight into how they serve our community.

FOOD BANK
The three food bank depots provided food to 1,142 households; 5,598 people.  45.1% of the recipients in the Tri-Cities are children and youth under the age of 19 (an 8.1% increase over last year).

NON-MARKET HOUSING
Providing housing to 187 children / youth, 193 adults and 30 people 65 years and older.  Almost 500 household are waiting for non-market housing located in Port Coquitlam.

CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS
1,984 adults and 1,564 children / youth had extra food and toys as a result of the Christmas programs last year.

To read the full four page PDF report CLICK HERE.