A Chatham couple is breathing a sigh of relief knowing that they'll be able to continue their long-time charitable efforts.
In May, John and Sandra Van Raay put out a public plea in hopes of finding a new warehouse to to use for their non-profit organization, Canadian Food For Children Chatham-Kent.
After a little over a month, the search is over and the Van Raays have secured a new location in Chatham.
Canadian Food For Children Chatham-Kent collects and donates food and vital supplies to people living in poverty overseas.
The Van Raays have been at their current warehouse on Inshes Avenue for around 15 years and the organization has on average between 50 to 75 volunteers who sort and pack the food and supplies.
However, because a majority of their volunteers are seniors, the pair was in need of a more practical warehouse space that had only one storey. According to Sandra, the new warehouse meets that need.
"That's going to make it better for our senior volunteers and also when they bring in heavy things, we've had to bring them down a staircase and it's been pretty scary sometimes," she said. "We won't have that to worry about now, which is good."
After putting out their plea for a new warehouse through local media, Sandra said it didn't take long before a new location was presented to them through word of mouth.
The pair were hoping they would be able to at least continue running the organization from Chatham, but things worked out better than they ever imagined -- the new location is only a few feet from their current warehouse.
"It's so handy and it'll be so easy to move," Sandra said. "We've been in our current spot for almost 16 years, so for people to be able to find our new spot just down the street is great."
The Van Raays created and founded Canadian Food for Children Chatham-Kent in 2006 after being inspired by a similar initiative in the Toronto area.
What started with collecting a few canned goods on the street, quickly grew to sending 10,000 to 15,000 lbs. of non-perishable food items a year to developing countries.
John said it's a huge relief to be able to know they will still be able to keep helping people in need.
"We didn't know what the next step was going to be. There was one step we didn't want to take, and now we don't have to take that one because we have another place," said John. "That really means a lot, not only to us but the people overseas in third world countries."
Canadian Food For Children Chatham-Kent will remain at its current spot for the rest of the summer, before moving to the new warehouse in early October.
