Canada Post strike hurting Okanagan charities

It is the busiest clip of twelvemonth for the Central Okanagan Food Bank arsenic it prepares to assistance hundreds of families this Christmas season.

It’s besides the astir captious erstwhile it comes to fiscal donations.

“The bulk of our giving is the past six weeks of the year, 80 per cent,” said Trina Speiser, the nutrient bank’s manager of development.

But the ongoing Canada Post onslaught is having a large interaction connected the organization’s mail-in campaign.

“We bash a nonstop mail-in campaign. We sent it retired successful November, a reminder was expected to spell retired Dec. 8,” Speiser said.

Not lone did that reminder not spell retired but those message donations were not capable to travel in.

“I person the content erstwhile message is moving again, we are going to get those donations that we get successful December possibly successful January,” Speiser said.

It’s a akin communicative for the Salvation Army Okanagan Central.

“We’re looking astatine fundamentally $300,000-ish that would usually travel successful done the mail,” said Capt. Jennifer Henson.

It is wealth the Salvation Army whitethorn not beryllium capable to pat into this twelvemonth arsenic it, too, works to enactment an unprecedented fig of families.

“Some radical message it successful due to the fact that that’s their lone option. It’s not that it’s arsenic convenient for them but they can’t really get retired of the house, and possibly they’re not acquainted with however to bash an online donation,” Henson said. “So it’s a definite concern.”

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At the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation office, the message tray sits empty.

“It’s a small nerve-wracking,” said Chandel Schmidt, vice president of philanthropy for the KGH Foundation.

“It’s not optimal timing. We spot decidedly the highest measurement of giving this clip of year. We truly number connected this clip of twelvemonth for our support. We person grown to benignant of expect it erstwhile radical are feeling precise generous, which we’re precise grateful for.”

The concern is truthful concerning for non-profit organizations that the Association of Fundraising Professionals has sent a missive to Canada’s Labour curate urging Steven MacKinnon to instrumentality steps to guarantee parties scope a speedy resolution.

The missive reads, successful part, “Many charities person astatine slightest fractional of their yearly donations during the last 3 months of the year, with December being the astir important month. This postal disruption volition severely interaction charities’ quality to present indispensable services to Canadians and communities successful need.”

“We’re conscionable encouraging radical to look for different alternatives to give, e-transfers, recognition paper donation online,” said Speiser.