Local businesses in Pemberton stepped up in a big way to help residents affected by severe flooding this week.
The Village of Pemberton (VOP) declared a state of local emergency on Jan. 30, and many locals were displaced from their homes due to an evacuation order on Airport Road.
On Wednesday, Jan. 31, Mount Currie Coffee Co. offered free drip coffee to anyone affected by the floods. The coffee shop also made a point of offering Kevin Clark, operations and maintenance manager for the Pemberton Valley Dyking District (PVDD), a free beverage. Locals have hailed the PVDD as a lifesaver during the last few days, and thanked Clark for his clear and honest updates on Facebook.
Mount Currie Coffee Co. owner Chris Ankeny said the free drip coffee will be on offer to those affected for as long as needed.
“I thought it was an easy thing that we could do to make every body’s day a little easier,” he said. “It was a no-brainer for me to do stuff like that when things like this happen.”
Ankeny found it heartwarming to see the small-town spirit is still alive and well in Pemberton.
“We are not the only ones. A lot of businesses will step and do things when we have situations like this,” he said. “It’s the beauty of a small town. We live at Pioneer Junction, so we were watching the diking truck come back and forth at all hours of the day. I thought they might need some coffee!”
Like many other locals, Ankeny now hopes the worst is behind us.
“I think we got lucky with the forecast. Not as much rain as was predicted fell,” he said. “We are on the way to having it all mellow out now.”
Meanwhile, Mile One Eating House is hosting a fundraiser for the Pemberton Valley Trails Association (PVTA) tonight, Feb. 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. One dollar from every meal and alcoholic drink sold will go to the PVTA. In a post on Facebook, management explained how important it was to give back to local trail fairies after the recent floods.
“Normally the bike trails are something we think about closer to March/April,” they wrote. “The recent deluge has woken the network up early and likely with some work needed on them.”
A representative from the PVTA will also be at the event tonight to answer any questions and give out information.
The restaurant has held regular fundraising events for local charities over the past few months. General manager, Laura Scarr, previously said the team is always eager to support local charities.
“Being in a small town like Pemberton, I feel like it’s so important to support the community,” she said. “We are so lucky to have some good support systems. We have gotten so much support from the community. I am just really excited that we have some sort of ways of giving back.”
Six dogs in Pemberton Animal Wellbeing Society’s (PAWS) shelter were in grave danger the morning of Jan. 30, after severe flooding on Airport Road. Thankfully, the community stepped up and all of the shelter’s animals are safely settled in their foster homes. Sew it Seams Pemberton immediately saw that PAWS would need monetary support to get back and running. The businesses made and sold recycled fabric dog beds with 100-per-cent of the proceeds going to PAWS. The beds are already sold out with some locals just popping in to make a donation.
