SC Donations tracker-helping Canadians and Canadian animals in need
A day late in the creation of the thread, but it's a worthy topic as Smart Canucks do donate funds and items to help other Canadians experiencing need with food insecurity/shelter/medical expenses/loss of personal effects due to fires and even basic clothing/personal care items. As well, many individuals care about animals, whether they are their own or other Canadians' pets, animal rescues supporting veterinary costs/food/rehab, or even livestock relocated from wildfire/flooding/severe weather events and needing emergency feed/shelter/veterinary care to continue.
Thanks to
@crafter
suggesting this thread to track Smart Canucks' donations! :icon_santa::flowers:
Primary focus of thread:
Can we backdate the donations to cover donations from September 2021 onwards, as we are likely to still have remembrance or tracked expenditures from Back-to-School campaigns/appeals this September?
Quantifiable donations:
-$ value known of money donated in person/online/via friends & family to any Canadian registered charity/organization providing food bank/food hamper/community meals to Canadians or volunteer group/entity providing community fridge/food programs for residents in need. This category can also include money donated to cover a meal or set of meals for specific meal programs (regular giving or specific holiday or community need campaigns, whether a set number of meals is determined necessary or set $ goal is required to provide the program)
-$ value of actual food items donated to Canadian food drive/local community entity or group/persons experiencing food insecurity
-$ value of any loyalty program redemptions used towards donations to assist Canadians or animals in Canada in need
-$ value of any basic needs (non-food like furnishings/apparel & footwear/utility or shelter or rent payments/medical costs and medications/transportation costs like bus fares/cards/school supplies sponsored through Canadian campaigns (social media/free classifieds/community organizations or groups)
-$ value of any animals in distress/medical care or rehab/food donations in Canada
Non-quantifiable donations but still worthy of tracking because Smart Canucks care about helping other Canadians:
-freely given new or secondhand clothing/furnishings/mobility aids/crafting items to Canadians in need (might be items once used but no longer needed or someone gave them to you and you want to pay them forward to someone who can use them). This includes freecycle/clothing drives items/special needs items for persons with disabilities.
-donated pet food and supplies, livestock feed and supplies and tools to Canadian organizations/volunteer groups (many that rely on private donations to provide care and daily needs for animals in need)
Secondary focus-discussion of donation trends including processing costs for online donations, how we are finding donation appeals, and community fridges/pantries to give food-insecure Canadians self-service access to foods/personal care items they select.
Smart Canucks, let me know if there's a need not listed above that you'd like included.
A couple of issues that I am aware of but that might run into forum rules:
One recently-discovered community fridge (new to me) is run by a place of worship (so it could be seen as a religious topic, rather than a resource open to all residents in the area being served) with set hours of access and specific food donation criteria that meet its specific dietary rules.
A frequently mentioned concern by individuals accessing food bank programs is lack of control over the food items/quantity received, state of product or prepared items donated by businesses to food bank (spoilage), or inappropriate food items for medical/religious dietary needs.
Cannot promote things on the forum. So I ask that we don't mention specific organizations in our posts (maybe share in PMs if another forum member in an area would like to know) but do mention the province where donations are made. Also, try to provide privacy for persons known to you that you have donated.