An army of volunteers filled the Cumberland Recreation Centre on Sunday to fill shopping bags with freshly baked cookies, warm clothing and personal hygiene items for women, men and children.
It was part of the Everybody Deserves A Smile (EDAS) project, demonstrating that people care for one another.
In about three hours, 459 hand-painted bags were filled and ready for delivery to the agencies that will distribute them to the homeless and disadvantaged. Three hundred of the bags will remain in the Comox Valley and will be handed out at the Sonshine Soup Kitchen, the Wachaiy Centre, the AIDS Society, Four Square Church and some will be distributed on the streets of the community.
The remaining bags are destined for Victoria and will be distributed through the Street Lines Centre Mat Program. Another group of EDAS volunteers will gather in Nanaimo in mid January to prepare more bags for people in that city and area and Victoria.
Chantal Stefan, founder of EDAS, thanked all the donors and volunteers from the Comox Valley community for their support and for exceeding the number of bags ever filled at a work party until now.
More information about the non-profit society may be found on their website: www.edas.ca
— Everybody Deserves a Smile