COCHRANE— A group of dedicated volunteers has embraced creativity and innovation to bring hand sanitizer and soap to vulnerable community members.
A group of five Kiwanis Clubs in the Calgary area, including Cochrane, Airdrie and Okotoks, have partnered to find a way to continue to engage with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic and support people in need, said Kiwanis Club of Cochrane president Ronald Gosselin.
“Kiwanis, in the end, is all about trying to help kids but we can’t interface with kids at this point in time,” Gosselin said, explaining how the idea to donate hand sanitizer came about. “It’s something that a lot of people can’t find so we started to look around.”
Working in collaboration with the other Kiwanis Clubs the organization has raised funds, secured bulk sanitizer, and arranged for bottling and distribution to various agencies supporting families and children in need in the Calgary area.
More than 6,000 bars of soap and 1,200 bottles of hand sanitizer have been distributed to vulnerable community members to date.
Gosselin said the idea took flight when the organization was able to secured hand sanitizer in 20-litre pails.
The next question, he said, was figuring how to repackage the hand sanitizer into four-ounce bottles and make it available to the public through partnerships with other organizations.
They were able to locate a bottler and began to collaborate with Soap for Hope in Airdrie to package the hand sanitizer so it could be delivered to those in need.
From there it was off to the races, Gosselin said.
The clubs meet monthly now to decide how each batch of hand sanitizer will be distributed in the different communities.
The Cochrane Kiwanis Club made their first donation of 80 four-ounce bottles at the end of April to the Cochrane Food Bank and brought 400 bars of soap to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.
They had a second delivery of 80 bottles of hand sanitizer distributed to Big Hill Lodge senior house and brought an additional 400 bars of soap to Eden Valley.
The biggest hurdle they face now is that the clubs are now having difficulties securing the little bottles to refill, Gosselin said with a chuckle.
“We went all across North America and couldn’t find anything,” Gosselin said.
They have now transitioned to distributing eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer and will soon decide where the next batch will go among the clubs.
Gosselin said the club is consulting with Cochrane Family and Community Support Services to explore potential organizations they could help next.
He added that he is unsure when they will get the next batch of hand sanitizer for Cochrane but expects one in the near future.
“We’re hopeful we’re going to be able to do some more stuff to serve the community,” Gosselin said. “We’ve got some very good out of the box thinkers.”
