COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Update

Several weeks ago we announced some of the steps we are taking as we navigate through the effects of COVID-19 on our community and around the world.
As your community foundation, we are committed to supporting the charities and organizations who will be significantly impacted in both the short and long term by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, on March 27th the ACF announced the establishment of the Abbotsford COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.
This fund provided immediate support for charitable organizations serving vulnerable persons by providing $30,000 in emergency funding to be distributed equally to four of the local agencies that provide shelter and food services for the most vulnerable people in our community. We asked for your donations to match this funding and the response has been overwhelming!
To date, an additional $42,000 has been donated by our community and we are so thankful! This past week, we visited three of the charities with the first funding cheques and captured their response on how this financial support will assist them in helping our most vulnerable citizens during this very difficult and challenging time.
The four charities that will receive emergency funding are:

• Archway Food Bank
• Cyrus Centre
• SARA for Women
• The Salvation Army

We are still collecting donations towards our goal of raising $100,000 and will be providing a second round of funding to the four charities in the middle of May. If you are able to support this, we encourage all stakeholders to make their gift through our website. Should you wish to donate by cheque, we are able to intermittently receive and process donations via mail. We will be unable to take donations in-person.
As a community foundation, we take seriously our responsibility to listen and support community in whatever way we can. We were pleased to hear the announcement this past week from the Federal Government that a $350M COVID-19 relief fund will be established for the charitable sector and that Community Foundations of Canada will be one of the partners to deliver that funding to local charities. We are following this closely and will be ready to mobilize that funding to our community charities when the details have been finalized.
One of our community’s greatest strengths is coming together in times of uncertainty and adversity. We live in one of the most determined and generous communities in Canada and we are proud to be a partner in wellness.
Thank you for your ongoing support and your dedication to our community. It is going to take all of us, working together, to navigate these challenging times. We want you to know that the Abbotsford Community Foundation will be here when it counts.