Angie Marshall thought she would only collect a small amount of donations for wildfire evacuees in northwestern Ontario.
However, within just a few weeks, a whole warehouse filled up in Thunder Bay.
Piles of neatly labeled clothing, hygiene products, books, games, and toys have turned the space into something that resembles a store.
“What you see behind us is literally a fraction of what we had,” Marshall said.
Marshall serves as the lands and resources manager for Whitesand First Nation, one of over a dozen communities evacuated due to nearby wildfire threats.
Evacuees from Whitesand First Nation, Armstrong, Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, and Gull Bay First Nation have been living in Thunder Bay since mid-July.
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Angie Marshall, left, and Victor Wiltmann have been busy organizing donations for wildfire evacuees at 670 Beaverhall Place in Thunder Bay, Ont. (Marc Doucette/CBC)
Volunteers started collecting donations at different spots around town. While 670 Beaverhall Place (owned by Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services) was initially meant as an overflow area, it quickly turned into the city’s donation center – making Marshall the donation and volunteer coordinator.
“It means more than people realize. Just knowing that you have a clean pair of underwear to put on at the end of the day after having a hot shower means a lot more than people know,” Marshall said about the community’s kindness.
However, this outpouring of support has created an issue: there aren’t enough volunteers to handle all the items being dropped off.
No more physical donations are being accepted at 670 Beaverhall Place. Instead, volunteers are storing some items in sea cans while others are given to social service organizations in town.
“We still got lots of weeks of hot weather and communities like ours don’t know if we can return home yet or when – or even if there’s a home to go back to,” Marshall said.
“We are going to keep plenty of stuff on hand for evacuees but anything that’s not needed will be donated back.”
Pushing Back Against Negativity
The best way people can help wildfire evacuees is either by volunteering to sort through donations or by donating to a relief fund.
These include (but aren’t limited to):The Northwestern Ontario Wildfire Community Support Fund. The Mikinakoos Children’s Fund. True North Aid.
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No physical donations for wildfire evacuees will be accepted at 670 Beaverhall Place in Thunder Bay, Ont. (Sarah Law/CBC)
The Thunder Bay Police Service’s toy drive for wildfire evacuees has also wrapped up after collecting so many items that they filled 13 vehicles.
“There’s a lot of people who are willing to give stuff – the basics, essentials like toiletries and underwear,” said Victor Wiltmann, a volunteer at 670 Beaverhall Place.
“The people who receive them appreciate having those things.”
Volunteers can come by the warehouse Monday through Friday between 9 a. m. ET and 4 p. m. ET. Updates can be found on the Thunder Bay Wildfire Relief Volunteering (670 Beaverhall Place) Facebook group.
Thunder Bay often gets criticized for being unwelcoming,” said Marshall.
“But what happened this month shows otherwise.”
“This really proves that that’s not true,” she added. “The number of people with big hearts who genuinely want to help outweighs any negativity present in the city.”
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