The Salvation Army Receives 2021 Community Matters Award
The Abbotsford Board of Education awarded The Salvation Army Centre of Hope as the 2021 recipient for the Community Matters Award. Nominated by Andrea Senft, Manager of Community Partnership with the Abbotsford School District, The Salvation Army has gone above and beyond to support our schools and families throughout the pandemic. Since March 2020, they have supplied the district with $213,000 worth of food, which has been used to support meal programs and many of our vulnerable families during school breaks and when in-class instruction was suspended.
The Salvation Army is committed to ensuring children are equipped with better health, a better state of mind and a greater capacity to earn a living above the poverty line. Through The Salvation Army’s Pantry34 program, the organization works to ensure that all youth in Abbotsford have access to healthy, nutritious snacks and beverages at any time of the school day as part of their regular school routine. Food and beverage items are assembled and delivered twice a month to the schools.
“Even though COVID-19 has come with many challenges, the opportunity arose to partner with an organization that would be effective in distributing large amounts of food to vulnerable families in our community,” said Robert Studiman, Commuity Ministries Director for The Salvation Army. “The decision was easy, I reached out to Abbotsford School District and the rest is history. We are honoured to be chosen as the 2021 recipient of this prestigious award. I would like to thank the Abbotsford Board of Education and our nominator Andrea Senft and her team for working alongside The Salvation Army. We look forward to enriching the partnership and collaborating on many more initiatives such as The Salvation Army’s Pantry34 program and securing funding and providing food for the District’s Fuel Up hampers."
The Board of Education established the annual award in 2015. The Community Matters Award is presented annually to organizations that have exceeded their community service mandate and have made a significant, deliberate contribution to Abbotsford School District students.