Crossroads Cares Response: South Okanagan Wildfires

As wildfires continue to impact communities across the South Okanagan, Crossroads Cares is responding through our local partner, Bethel Church in Penticton, to support individuals and families displaced by the fires.

Bethel is part of the South Okanagan Social Response Task Force, a collaborative network of social service agencies coordinating a community-wide response during emergencies. As part of that effort, the church has been designated the Food Donation and Evacuee Food Hamper Centre—receiving donated food, assembling emergency hampers, and helping ensure essential food reaches people who have been forced from their homes.

But the response has quickly grown beyond operating a distribution centre.

Teams recognized that many evacuees are staying in RVs, vehicles, motels, and other temporary accommodations throughout the community. Rather than waiting for people to come and ask for help, volunteers are going directly to them—delivering food hampers and essential supplies wherever they are staying.

For people experiencing sudden displacement, uncertainty, and loss, that personal approach matters. Some are understandably hesitant to ask for assistance. Meeting people where they are provides not only practical support, but dignity, compassion, and a tangible expression of the love of Jesus at a time when it is needed most.

The response is being spearheaded locally by Holly Bates, Community Engagement Pastor at Bethel Church, and has mobilized volunteers alongside members of the wider community. What began as an assigned food distribution role has grown into a broader community effort, with people generously giving food, resources, and their time to care for neighbours in need.

Crossroads Cares is helping support this response through the Canada Emergency Response Fund, which enables us to come alongside trusted local partners when emergencies affect communities across Canada.

This is Crossroads Cares in action—meeting practical needs, standing with people in crisis, and sharing the compassion and hope of Jesus through tangible acts of care.

You can help make responses like this possible. Donate to the Crossroads Cares Canada Emergency Response Fund:

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