Editor:
Re: Delta Hospice asset must be saved, group urges (Optimist, April 8).
In my opinion, the Take Back Delta Hospice (TBDH) Advocacy Group lobbied the provincial and municipal governments and the public to strike down the Delta Hospice Society. The result is the loss of two valued and extraordinarily successful community facilities to the health authority.
Now TBDH group feels they must save the remaining Charity Shoppe asset which is a popular and productive business in operation since 1998. The Shoppe raises funds for the Supportive Care Counselling and Resource Program and not the Irene Thomas Hospice funded by Fraser Health. It is also a recycling centre for Tsawwassen to reuse, resale and recycle clothing, household items, furniture, metal and cardboard.
With the spread of misinformation by the TBDH group, the Society lost the permissive tax exemption which will cost the Society approximately $25,000. This does not sit well with the community volunteers who work endlessly to support resources for people living with cancer, living with dying at home and in care facilities, and bereavement support in the case of anticipated or sudden, traumatic death.
The Charity Shoppe does not need saving. The volunteers are working hard with the hardship of COVID-19 restrictions and the customers are responding with enthusiasm and great interest. The funds support the ongoing programs of the Society to some of the community’s most vulnerable.
Nancy Macey
