A Kindersley resident recently completed a trip north to deliver supplies to emergency crews doing their best to deal with the ongoing wildfire situation in northern Saskatchewan — and has plans to go again.
Following the journey on social media, Selena Edmunds posted back on May 29 that she was headed to a temporary fire base in Choiceland with supplies. The initial post was a callout to the community for help collecting non-perishable food items, clothes, blankets, and amenities like games to keep busy during downtime.
Edmunds made the trip in partnership with a Delisle based group that ran a similar effort to collect donations. With everything in place, the trailer going north was loaded last Thursday ahead of departure on Friday. Before leaving up north Edmunds gave massive thanks to everyone staying home in Kindersley to assist, shouting out Food Mesh for extra service, the Wolfe's Den Inn for opening rooms, and teasing the weekend clothing drive to name a few shoutouts. The Kindersley Co-op also made a donation before Edmunds left giving a large amount of water and food for front-line firefighters.
"Thank you everyone for your donations. No matter how big or small they have and will make a difference."
Last Friday's travels took Edmunds and company to Melfort and then Nipawin for the first supply drop. A salvation army drop off in Nipawin was followed by a meeting with fire chiefs from the area to allocate few more supplies ahead of the trip to the temporary fire base.
The trailers were emptied upon arrival to Lower Fishing Lake base camp in Choiceland. The supplies went towards some 250 bagged lunches they are making a day, and fresh tents, sleeping bags and pillows were another welcome addition. On Saturday morning the group attempted to go to the base at Prince Albert but it was closed upon arrival.
They allocated the rest of the supplies where they could before bringing some stock home for local firefighters.
"...to take with them if/when they are being deployed. It gives them a start to supplies they will need." shared Edmunds on her Facebook, though nothing more is needed at this very moment.
Edmunds' trip earned herself a "challenge coin". If she could, she would give some out herself.
"I can't even list every individual who has helped with this venture. The biggest heartfelt thank you from everyone we have handed donations to. You are all amazing. And if you want to continue to help our front line forest fire fighters let me know. We can plan another adventure." said Edmunds in an updated post, giving even more thanks to Kindersley Scotia Bank, and Sask Pension Plan - Kindersley Branch for their donations of water and snacks, along with corporate/workplace sponsorships from the Co-op and Save on Foods in town.
Edmunds returned home to Kindersley at 1:15 AM on Saturday but didn't let the long day keep her away from helping at the clothing drive on Saturday. Edmunds helped out all day Saturday and Sunday and once again took to social media to showcase outstanding community support.
Another purchase using monetary donations helped fill in a few gaps for things like teen clothing, boys' socks, and ladies' underwear, as well as swimsuits/shorts and pajama pants.
"...so I went shopping. Once again THANK YOU!! To everyone for your support and encouragement."
The goodwill has continued throughout the week as Edmunds secured clothing and jackets from Supreme Source for Sports in Kindersley. That joined the existing pile of leftover clothes from the weekend clothing drive, one of the only tasks left now being to transport the heavy boxes to the Crisis Centre.
"We really all play a part to make things happen and help our community near and far."
Edmunds has plans to make another delivery up north whenever possible. Expect another call out for supplies sometime this month, and other chances to help.
Go-getters like Edmunds play a big part whenever times get tough. Often times the people carrying out these tasks are the first ones to deny credit, but there has to be some level of recognition for people coming together to support a cause bigger than themselves.