Saturday gave us more than one of the first nice-weather days of spring , it also brought us an amazing example of what a community can accomplish when it works together. Hundreds of volunteers crowded the Cochrane Alliance Church and took to the streets in vans, cars and trucks to help with the Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area's first of two annual food drives. The army of more than 600 Good Samaritans answered Helping Hand's call to help replenish the Cochrane Activettes' Food Bank, which helps feed families not only in Cochrane but Bragg Creek and parts of Rocky View County as well. While the number of people donating their time was impressive, surpassing previous volunteering numbers, the amount of food people donated was record breaking. Helping Hands set a goal of around 1,100 boxes of food, hoping to beat last year's 1,000 boxes, Food poured in throughout the morning and case upon case was sorted and loaded, until more than 1,200 were delivered to the food bank. That will undoubtedly go a long way to supporting the many people who have to rely on the food bank to make ends meet. Last year, more than 1,000 hampers helped to feed more than 2,500 people, 1,200 of whom were children. This weekend's support is a testament to the giving nature of Cochrane. Time and time again we are amazed at the generosity of this community. Whether it is selling out back-to-back events in support of building the new Women's Shelter or this weekend's push to stock the shelves at the food bank, Cochranites always step up to help their neighbours. While the number of donations and volunteers is more than enough to record the event as an overwhelming success, the type of people who dedicated their time to helping cannot be overlooked. The volunteers ran the gamut of the town's demographics. It was also heartwarming to see so many children helping to sort food, carry donations and even drop off a few of their own items to go in the hampers. Following the event, Jackie Shier, Helping Hands executive director, was quick to thank everyone who volunteered and donated. "Today was a fun and very rewarding experience. Please accept our heartfelt appreciation for giving so fully to touch the lives of others. The Helping Hands Society links people who help with people who need help and that happened in a very big way today," she wrote. With this food drive in the bag, Helping Hands and the Activettes will be planning for the next food drive that helps the food bank make the push through one of its busiest times – Christmas.
Mark Saturday, Sept 15 on you calendar for the winter food drive at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
