Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart is no stranger to Facebook. He’s a regular poster of community stories, topical issues and, of course, photos of his dogs.
His social media feed is so popular, it has become a kind of community bulletin board, although not everyone agrees with his point of view, yet it attracts a large following.
But one recent post stands out more than others, and after people read and commented on it, the message has taken on a life of its own.
On Dec. 13, Stewart recounted the hardships faced by several local families, many of them refugees, and one mom struggling with poverty so extreme because of a lack of child support she can’t buy new shoes for their children. The post generated a community response so powerful that even Stewart is awed by the compassion of his fellow citizens.
“It caught people in ways I hadn’t anticipated,” Stewart told The Tri-City News this week. “There are needs like that throughout any community but you realize people want to hear the stories and then they want to help. Give them that personal connection to the need out there and people will step up and fill it.”
The call for help generated $1,000 in Visa gift cards, furniture, children’s toys and Christmas trees and decorations, which were delivered to the families using a loaned truck.
And Stewart, who works with a group of volunteers called Tri-Cities Friends of Refugees, said community generosity is making at least one Syrian family feel welcome.
The widow and her four children had been living in refugee camps for seven years and were recently sponsored to come to Canada. Now, they are living in an apartment that was furnished by volunteers and donors, with the mom planning to register her children for school shortly.
“They got placed in a building that’s going to be redeveloped in Burquitlam. They can live there for five months. They have nothing, they don’t know English, the community is really kind for coming together for them,” said Coun. Teri Towner, who also volunteers with the Tri-Cities Friends of Refugees group, which over the years has fixed up a number of homes for refugee newcomers.
Now it appears the community’s generosity is taking off in even greater ways: A GoFundMe page has been set up that has already raised $1,000 and the Friends group is seeking society status so it can become a charitable organization.
Said Stewart: “It’s hard to just sit back and ignore this challenge in a community. And every time we’ve gone forward and asked for help, the community steps up and says, ‘Yes can we help.'"
To donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser, visit here:
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