Editor:
Three weeks ago my husband had a heart attack, which has thrown our family into a crisis. He spent 11 days in the hospital in Vancouver. I needed to be with him, which meant leaving our two young children, our Nana, our puppy, and our chickens here on the Coast.
There was no time to plan or arrange anything, but within hours of our being gone this amazing community came together to offer its full support. Our kids were loved, fed, driven to activities, invited to friends’ houses, looked out for at school and protected from unnecessary worry. The puppy was taken out for walks, hikes, and doggy playdates at least twice a day. The burden of looking after the house and kids was lifted off Nana’s shoulders by kind friends and neighbours. The recycling was done, the garbage was taken out, errands were run, the house was cleaned, gifts were delivered.
Once I called to ask about a few things that were worrying me on the home front and they had already been taken care of. People were literally two steps ahead of me. A meal train was set up and all the days were filled within a few hours. There were people wanting to sign up to deliver dinner but there was no more room. We have also received a significant amount of financial support through gift cards, scholarships for my daughters’ extra-curricular activities, and dozens and dozens of extremely generous donations through GoFundMe.
In lieu of hundreds of thank you cards which I can’t send out, I hope the word spreads loud and far just how much it has meant to us and how crucial it has been to have this love and support holding us up in this very difficult time. What an incredible community to live in. We are overwhelmed by the generosity. With tears, sincerity and gratitude: Thank you!
Kathleen Clover, on behalf of the Clover-Simmons clan, Gibsons
