An Okotoks service club has taken a hands-on approach to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Kiwanis Club of Okotoks has donated, in total, 220 bottles of hand sanitizer and 750 soap bars to the Okotoks Food Bank, Family and Community Support Services Okotoks and the Rowan House Society.
“Our club in Okotoks has been meeting every two weeks virtually and we started chatting about what could we continue to do for our community,” said Okotoks Kiwanis Club president Dennis Dahl.
Working with other clubs in the region, Kiwanis members started investigating where hand sanitizer could be acquired for the
Clean Hands, Helping Hands, Open Hearts project.
“We acquired this hand sanitizer, which is Alberta Health Services approved,” Dahl said. “Our club and the Northmount (Calgary) went about arranging to have members fill these bottles.”
The six-ounce bottles are then labelled – with the respective clubs now front and centre on the bottle. The hand sanitizer was donated through Canadian Tire.
Kiwanis works closely with Soap for Hope YYC in obtaining the bars of soap. Soap for Hope works with businesses, such as WestJet and hotels to obtain toiletries which are then distributed to organizations that help those in need.
Those would include shelters, transitional homes, food banks, schools and seniors facilities. Soap for Hope is a program with Disaster Aid Canada.
The Kiwanis’ effort means providing those little extras.
“Pamela (McLean) at the Okotoks Food Bank said they will use them for their food bank hampers,” Dahl said.
There is more help coming from the Kiwanis Club of Okotoks.
At present the Okotoks club has acquired 1,500 soap bars and 320 sanitizer bottles with more on the way.
“We just finished bottling a little more than 100 bottles,” Dahl said. “We are going to use them for front-line workers, some of the teachers who are back, and others.”
The Northmount, Airdrie and Cochrane Kiwanis clubs are also involved in the project.
So far, more than 6,000 bars of soap and 1,200 bottles of sanitizer have been distributed throughout those communities.
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