Chilliwack Search and Rescue will benefit from a larger training and storage facility at their new $3 million building site with funding of $250,000 from provincial Community Gaming Grants.
The Chilliwack SAR team, and Bard in the Valley Society, are two of the 62 non-profits sharing a pool of $5.2 million in grants for capital projects aimed squarely at improving the quality of life in these B.C. communities.
Both of the Chilliwack-area MLAs grasp the importance of this funding for the third busiest search and rescue team in the province. In the last few years they’ve been getting 80 to 100 calls a year. The 45-member team was called out 121 times in 2021.
“A new training centre for Chilliwack Search and Rescue, which does such great work, is an incredible investment for our community,” said Chilliwack MLA Dan Coulter. “As Chilliwack grows, the extra space will be a welcome addition for the SAR team.”
The building fundraising effort has netted about $420,000 of the $1 million goal, but it’s ongoing.
“The local search and rescue do so much here for people, and they are outgrowing their space,” said Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent.” A larger training and storage facility will help make sure that local search and rescue can accommodate growth for years to come.”
An Abbotsford theatre company was also awarded a capital grant,
A total of $34,440 is going toward a pickup truck for the Bard in the Valley Society, a mobile theatre company based in Abbotsford.
The funding is part of $140 million provided annually through Community Gaming Grants to not-for-profit organizations throughout British Columbia helping 5,000 organizations to deliver ongoing programs and services in their communities.