CARSTAIRS-DIDSBURY -- A local organization that helps people in the community make ends meet is looking at expanding into Carstairs.
Essentials for our Community has helped almost 200 households in Didsbury since opening almost five years ago.
"Essentials for our Community is a local non-profit organization that helps support people who are facing financial challenges with groceries, gas cards for medical appointments, coupons and certificates for baby supplies, mentoring and access to community resources," said president Sheree Andrews.
Almost all the money Essentials has is received through fundraising, said Andrews.
"Locals helping locals, that's our motto," she said.
The biggest fundraiser of the year is the local charity run, Surrounding in Support, which is scheduled for June 15.
"We ran it last September and raised around $7,000," she said. "We are running it again on June 15 this year. It's a 10K run that surrounds the outskirts of the town. This year people can run from Didsbury or Carstairs. The money you raise goes to the community you support."
For more information on the run please check out Essentials for our Community's Facebook page.
Andrews said they will be opening the Carstairs office at the library on Wednesday evenings.
"People can access supports the same as they would in Didsbury," she said. "We don't have an opening date yet. We still need to raise more funds. We need to know we have enough there to support the community."
Andrews said that they've received many phone calls over the past few months from people from Carstairs wanting support.
"We had to turn them down because of our fundraising being for locals for Didsbury," she said. "We weren't able to offer any support for Carstairs. We looked into it and decided to open up a branch in Carstairs. We have a few board members now from Carstairs who are able to take the project under our umbrella and run it there."
One of the factors that sets Essentials apart from other charities is that those seeking help are expected to volunteer in the community.
"One of the things that we do when people come in for help is that we have them tie into the community somewhere and volunteer," she said. "They need volunteer hours to access grocery cards. So that helps them tie into the community, engage in the community, find a purpose somewhere to serve."
Over the nearly five years Essentials has been in Didsbury more than 800 grocery cards have been given out including 87 so far in 2019. The office, which is located in the Didsbury Neighbourhood Place part of the new town office, is open on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 a.m. and Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m.
"People come in here for a lot more than just grocery cards," she said. "They come in for support, mentoring. We help people with their budgets. We come up with creative solutions to affordable housing. We support people with roommate situations. We help them problem-solve and find roommates who are good matches so they can afford their living costs."
