The tragedy of the wildfire that devastated the town of Lytton, BC has affected many lives, and the communities within the Fraser Valley have come together to support in this time of need.  We have coordinated with Boston Bar First Nation/Tuckkwiowhum Village to gather what’s needed and deliver to them to distribute.

UPDATE JULY 19TH:

Thanks to the generosity of so many businesses and individuals since July 1, storage for household items is currently beyond capacity and we are NO LONGER ABLE TO ACCEPT DONATIONS OF CLOTHING, FOOD, TOILETRIES, ETC.

We are able to accept: 

• Gift certificates for gas, groceries, pharmacies, clothing stories, and other essential services

• Cash donations

• New or clean & working tablets (please package in bag together with charger / accessories)

Note: Any cash donations collected will be entrusted to Boston Bar First Nations/Tuckkwiowhum Village to distribute to the proper locations and organizations. Cheques are to be made out to Boston Bar First Nation.

Online monetary donations can be made to: Lytton Relief Fund

*Special Donations Requests: we need with delivery straight to Boston Bar by appointment only. (Call Karen at 604-206-6006 for these items or email shannon@hopebc.ca)

• Fire Extinguishers 

• BBQ Cook-stoves, propane tanks, propane tank adaptors

• Coolers (new or very clean)

• Tablets

• Cash / Gas Cards / Gift Cards

• Portable power generators

• Large water storage containers

• Industrial grade power extension cords (long length)

• New or in great condition: Fans / AC Units

• New Microwaves / Rice Cookers / Crock pots / other small cooking appliances. (for health and safety must be new Tuckkwiowhum can’t except non-new cooking items)

Donation Centres are unable to provide tax receipts for cash donations at this time. If a tax receipt is required, please donate via the Go Fund Me: Lytton Relief Fund

Write cheques to Boston Bar First Nations, notation: Lytton Relief.

Cash, Cheques and Giftcards can also be sent to:

Boston Bar First Nations, Box 369, Boston Bar, V0K 1C0

A special thank you to Karen Tillotson, Boston Bar First Nation, Tuckkwiowhum Village, Boston Bar Enhancement Society, and all of the volunteers from the Boston Bar area for all of the work they’re doing to make this possible.

Media Contact:
Shannon Jones
E-mail: shannon@hopebc.ca

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 2ND:

Lytton Fire Relief Centre is NOW OPEN in Boston Bar. Anyone affected by the fire is welcome to use the supply post. Tuckkwiowhum Village has many supplies, including: tents, blankets, food, hygiene items, water, pet supplies, gift certificates for groceries and more. They also have areas for you to camp, free of charge, if you would like to stay. Washroom facilities, showers, outdoor cooking areas, gazebos, and outdoor water access are the available amenities on-site on a beautifully landscaped area. Any and all who have been displaced by the Lytton wildfire are welcome at Tuckkwiowhum Village. #SupportLyttonBC

Location:
46292 Tuckkwiowhum ROAd, Boston Bar, BC, V0K 1C0

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 5TH:

Thanks to the help of so many people and our partners in The Fraser Valley we have been very successful at delivering supplies to those in need and quickly! We can not thank our volunteers, donors and staff enough! The hard work and generosity that has been shown this week is humbling. As we work hard we can’t forget that hundreds of people are still suffering without a home and suffering the loss of everything. Know that we are with you to the end and we are doing everything we can to help. We are very happy to report that many evacuees and people who have lost their homes have been coming in to make use of the resources at Tuckkwiowhum. Many many truckloads of supplies are picked up everyday and brought to people in need! We have also been able to supply many communities that are cut off from supplies including Lytton (westside), Siska, Skuppah, and Kanaka. Our supply centre has also been utilized by volunteers helping to distribute items of need to the firefighters and emergency services struggling to fight the fires. We have distributed hundreds of giftcards to grocery stores, department stores, gas cards and more to evacuees. Through our partners at The Fraser Valley we were also able to send $2,800 in giftcards evacuees in Chilliwack. We are still working very hard to distribute supplies and giftcards to those in need. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and made this possible!

#NlakapamuxSTRONG #TheFraserCanyon #TheFraserValley

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 8TH:

We would like to thank everyone for all the generous donations of essential and speciality supplies that have shown up over the past 2 days! Those items have been distributed far and wide to many people in need and dispersed by the Lytton fire. We went through our speciality gear faster than we thought. We are thankful for CN Rail who is currently providing us a very massive shipment of speciality supplies to fill us back up again with a commitment to keep helping to supply us! We will update you more about those items soon. In addition to the locations mentioned in our last update we have also been able to send supplies to evacuees in Sts’ailes through our partners at Tourism Harrison and other evacuees throughout the Fraser Valley. We have also sent supplies to a Lytton Ground Recovery Crew through Lytton First Nations and Hope, Cascades & Canyons / Advantage Hope also supported by many volunteers. Over the past few days we have had a large shipment of supplies requested and sent to evacuees in Merritt. Our supplies centre continues to service community members on the 4 communities cut off that are accessible through Boston Bar through our volunteers including our friends at Spuzzum First Nations. We also have been sending supplies to front-line workers through other volunteer groups that have been distributing supplies and items to people most in need. In the coming days we are expecting to receive some generators which will be quickly distributed to people and groups in need. We would like to thank EVERYONE who has made a contribution to our efforts. From donations to volunteers we are so thankful for EVERYONE who has helped! A huge special thank you to our partners at The Fraser Valley, their partners Tourism Abbotsford, Tradex – Trade & Exhibition Centre, Tourism Langley, Tourism Chilliwack, Chilliwack Heritage Park, Hope, Cascades & Canyons, Tourism Harrison, Tourism Mission, Connect Media and all their supporters. We would not have been able to do this without you all! Please note that we are only taking certain types of donations at this time and by appointment only. There has been several major contributions made and as we catch up we will making a post shortly to try and mention as many of the business and people who helped the most. Please know that we appreciate each and every one of you. #NlakapamuxSTRONG

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 8TH # 2:

Although we made a large update earlier today we have a lot of information to keep sharing and we would like to keep everyone up to date and keep our efforts transparent so everyone can see their donations and contributions in action. This afternoon through our partners at Tourism Chilliwack and Tourism Harrison and donations collected by The Fraser Valley group we were able to send an additional $6000 in gift cards to evacuees throughout the Fraser Valley, Chilliwack and Sts’ailes. Not mentioned earlier but we have also now received a large donation of speciality supplies from Canadian Tire stores of Surrey and White Rock, most of which has already been distributed to those in need. In addition to supplies gathered and sent to Lytton First Nations, cash donations that were sent to Tuckkwiowhum Village have also been used to purchase equipment and supplies needed for first response teams in Lytton who are working to clear hazards and help people return to their properties as fast as possible. This work was done through our partners at Hope, Cascades & Canyons and many other donations made to them through Shannon Jones. While we have many more people to recognize we would like to mention the Lions Club and Rotary Clubs throughout the Fraser Valley for their help here at Tuckkwiowhum Village and helping sort and deliver donations at Tradex – Trade & Exhibition Centre, in Hope and throughout the Fraser Valley. The work you and all of our volunteers have done is incredible and needed. Over the coming days we have many shipments of speciality supplies arriving and we will remain open to help anyone affected by the Lytton Fires. If you know anyone in need please let them know we are available to help. Areas of our campgrounds also remain open to anyone needing a place to stay. In total we have distributed over $10,000 in gift cards to those in need and we are so thankful for all who has donated them as they have been very helpful to evacuees. Over the next week we will continue to need volunteers at Tuckkwiowhum. This Saturday we have a large volunteer work bee planned and with a BBQ lunch provided by the Hope Lions Club! We look forward to seeing everyone who can help! Please check out our earlier updates for more information on our Lytton relief efforts. #nlakapamuxSTRONG

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 11TH:

Today was an eventful day starting off with confirmation that a truck load of pet supplies arrived in Kamloops sent from Tuckkwiowhum to support many animals rescued in Lytton! Our volunteer work bee today was a massive success with over 80 volunteers throughout the day working hard to organize, receive, pack and ship supplies! A massive donation of specialty supplies was received including a big shipment from The Home Depot via Savage Society. Specials thanks to Clearway Rentals and Tradex – Trade & Exhibition Centre for making the delivery! We also received another shipment of cash and gift cards that were collected at The Fraser Valley visitor centres. Some of which we were able to send back down with Tourism Harrison to deliver more to evacuees in Sts’ailes. Please note, there has been some confusion as to who we are serving at Tuckkwiowhum and we would like to confirm that ANYONE affected by the fires are welcome to come. If you have any questions while you are here please ask for our site manager to assist you. Today we received another large shipment of supplies from CN Rail including mobile generators, fire extinguishers, camping supplies, and other speciality supplies. Including two industrial generators, a refer truck and semi-trailer for our extra storage. They also sent in a work team to create wide entrance stairs for us to get into the semi-trailer safe and easy. To EVERYONE who came out today. THANK YOU!!! Your work made a massive difference in our ability to continue to help others and receive donations. Thank you to the Lions Club members from all over the Fraser Valley who came to help us and feed us! We were so honoured to see so many people come to help and make a difference. Thank you again to our partners at Hope, Cascades & Canyons, Tourism Chilliwack, Tourism Mission, Tourism Abbotsford, Tourism Langley, Tourism Harrison and Connect Media without your support this would not have been possible.

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 14TH:

Tuckkwiowhum Village continues to receive large shipments of speciality supplies from The Fraser Valley tourism group, CN Rail and many other generous donors. We maintain a large stock of organized items from food, gift cards, hygiene products, pet supplies and other speciality supplies like generators, camping supplies and other items which are available upon request. We are open everyday to service anyone affected by the Lytton fire. If you know of anyone still in need of immediate help please contact us! #NlakapamuxSTRONG

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 16TH:

We are excited to announce that today we have withdrawn $150,000 from our GoFundMe! Thank you to everyone who has generously donated. We have written 2 cheques for the Lytton First Nations and The Village of Lytton. We have divided our funds and evenly distributed to the local Lytton governments based on population. We have done it this way to ensure everyone in Lytton benefits from your donations equally. We continue to collect and receive donations and will continue to keep you updated here on the Tuckkwiowhum Facebook page. Our relief centre continues to serve anyone affected by the Lytton fire and we are open daily! If you know anyone who is need of immediate assistance please have them contact us!

#NlakapamuxSTRONG

UPDATE FROM TUCKKWIOWHUM VILLAGE JULY 18TH:

Starting tomorrow, Monday July 19th, our HOURS ARE CHANGING TO 10AM to 5 PM in our Tuckkwiowhum longhouse, which is currently serving as a Lytton Fire Relief centre. We invite all Lytton evacuees and those who have been affected by the Lytton fire, to please come in and get needed supplies during these hours. We also have gift cards available for fuel, groceries and any other immediate needs. Our campground is also here to provide a ‘safe place to land’ for those wanting to be closer to home and be able to socialize with fellow Lytton evacuees. If you are transporting supplies to an evacuee who is situated in another area, please let our volunteers know so they can assist you. We are continuing to reach out to donors to respond to very specific needs expressed by evacuees and anyone affected by the fire. We are very grateful to the many donors who have responded generously and so quickly to our requests. We also treasure the wonderful hardworking volunteers who have sorted and organized the mountain of donations and assisted everyone with kindness during this difficult time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our site coordinator, Karen, at 604-206-6006. She will not be on site for a few days but will continue to take your calls.

#NlakapamuxSTRONG