Letter to the editor

It’s time to fill some empty bowls and baskets in Oliver and Osoyoos.

Due to COVID-19 and other stresses, more people than ever in the South Okanagan are struggling. 

Desert Sun Counselling and Resource Centre reports that calls for counselling, Safe Home care, crisis phone line support and other services are way up: calls to the referral line alone are up about 300 per cent compared to last year, though last year was already a record year for support requests. Many of Desert Sun’s critical programs are underfunded and need community support to keep operating. That’s why Desert Sun is very hopeful our communities will invest in Desert Sun’s Empty Bowls and Baskets virtual fundraiser. 

“We are depending on our community more than ever this year,” says Marieze Tarr, Desert Sun’s executive director. “Need is so high and many sources of funding that were available through the pandemic are now ending.”

The fundraiser is the ultimate in locals helping locals: every dollar raised will stay right here in the South Okanagan, helping vulnerable families and women in need in the communities of Okanagan Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos. 

Tarr hopes this year’s Empty Bowls and Baskets fundraiser will be as successful as last year’s virtual fundraiser. Among other programs, funds will be used to support Desert Sun’s Safe Home program, which supports women escaping abuse; and its Early Years program, which provides programming to very young children and their parents.

Desert Sun also plans to use some of the fundraised dollars for its Share the Spirit program, which provides gift hampers to local families in need at Christmas. People who’d like to support this program can either contribute dollars or sign up as a ‘Christmas Angel’ gift sponsor. Last year, Share the Spirit made Christmas brighter for 61 local families. This year we think 70 or more families will be in need of help. For more information about Share the Spirit, contact Benita Baerg at [email protected]  

(Note: While Desert Sun runs the Share the Spirit program for Oliver and Okanagan Falls, the Kiwanis Club of Osoyoos runs Share the Spirit in Osoyoos. For more information about how to get involved with Share the Spirit in Osoyoos, contact Donna Kelso at [email protected] or 250 495 7701.) 

To keep up with the Empty Bowls and Baskets fundraiser’s progress or learn more about any of Desert Sun’s programs, follow Desert Sun on Facebook or Instagram or call their office at 250 498 2538.

“We hope our communities will help us fill our most vulnerable community members’ empty bowls and baskets,” says Tarr. “Looking after each other is what makes our communities so special.”

Desert Sun Counselling and Resource Centre