In the last 6 months, 554 families and 2182 refugees (2046 are Syrians) were welcomed at CultureLink’s #RefugeeWelcome Donation Distribution Centre.

This past six months have been an extraordinary period for the nation, as well as for us as a small settlement agency. The unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Syria put all Canadians to the test – how much can we help and how soon can we react? We at CultureLink came up with a solution in November 2015 – we were going to establish a Donation Distribution Centre. But we had neither donation nor a centre. And, we hardly had any staff who could man such a large scale, makeshift clothing & household store. Yet, we did it, with the help of our dedicated volunteers, placement students and staff. Together, we responded to the urgent call for help, and together, we passed this historical test with flying colors.

Without any additional public funding, what we achieved together with the help of our volunteers and donors, was nothing short of monumental. We served more than 2000 refugee clients at our centre, hundreds of thousands items were donated, sorted out and given away to the recent refugees in need.

We gave out  household necessities, registered the newcomers for free services and laptops, took them for outings and looked after their children’s education needs. We made them feel welcome. We could have done none of these without our volunteers and donors. They are the backbone of CultureLink, the unsung heroes.

As the Centre comes to a close, CultureLink will be hosting an Appreciation Breakfast for our volunteers and donors on May 31. Photos on that event to follow in our next newsletter. Stay tuned!