East Kootenay Community Credit Union (EKC) helps Cranbrook Foodbank get started in 2018

EKC encourages the community to keep the needs of the Cranbrook Food Bank top of mind throughout the year.

L-R (Jean-Ann Debreceni, EKC Board Chair; Gerry Oviatt, Cranbrook Food Bank; Brian Smith, Cranbrook Food Bank; Mindy Atti, EKC Branch Manager; Lana Sheppard, EKC Manager, Commercial Services and Diane Byford, EKC Board) — Photo courtesy East Kootenay Community Credit Union

January 9, 2018, Cranbrook, BC: East Kootenay Community Credit Union (EKC) has helped the Cranbrook Food Bank replenish for 2018 with a donation of $2,500.

Cranbrook is incredibly generous especially during the holidays with fundraising activities, donations, and volunteerism. EKC encourages the community to keep the needs of the Cranbrook Food Bank top of mind throughout the year.

Gerry Oviatt and his team of fellow volunteers operate twelve months of the year and give out on average 450 hampers a month or approximately 33,000 pounds of food. Activities required for the Cranbrook Food Bank to collect, sort and prepare hampers is supported by fifty volunteers. A day shift would need fourteen to sixteen volunteers. Last year the need for hampers increased 12%, and 36% of the people receiving hampers are children.

EKC is happy to help kick start 2018. Jean-Ann Debreceni, Board Chair of EKC explains, "2017 was a good year and has given back over $292,000. This included patronage reward (money is given back to members), dividends (money paid to members for saving in a shares account) and donations. She went on to say, “The work done by the devoted volunteers at Cranbrook Food Bank makes people’s lives better.