Moose Jaw Family Services Inc. plays a vital role in the community, and much of the organization’s programming helps support young parents who would otherwise be without valuable resources and information.
One space the organization regularly uses is its kitchen, where new parents learn the basic skills of food preparation, cooking, and nutrition.
Last December during Christmas break, a pipe burst in the kitchen causing the room to fall out of use while the non-profit worked out a way to renovate the space. With no budget for emergencies such as this, the repair had to be delayed, causing the young parent’s program to be temporarily cancelled.
After reaching out to Carpet One, the local business came through and agreed to donate new flooring without cost to help get the Family Services programs back in operation.
“We reached out to Carpet One to see if they would be willing to donate anything for us. They said, ‘yes, of course, sure,’ right off the hop,” said Tara Jones, the executive director at Moose Jaw Family Services Inc.
“They were able to donate this product for us, and just contribute to us having this kitchen which is integral to our programs,” she said. “We heard they are incredibly generous, and I will tell you that is the truth.”
The project was also supported by C&S Builders Ltd., who assisted with the sink, painting, and sub-flooring on the insurance claim. On Dec. 7, another party donated a couch to be used in the organization’s board room.
“We are strong believers in community, and I think that a lot of community revolves around the kitchen table. So having a kitchen table here where employees can have coffee… together, and we can have clients come in and sit down, is just really important,” Jones said.
The young parent’s program is a weekly program that runs all year. The program is designed to assist parents aged 13 to 19 with a variety of essential skills, including the fundamentals of cooking. The space is also used by the dad’s group that runs on Tuesday evenings so new dads can socialize and learn tailored content such as positive parenting.
“Because they didn’t have a kitchen this year, that (program) hasn’t been allowed to work. We’re just back (as of) about a month or so,” she said. “Until we had the kitchen, we couldn’t make that happen.”
“Every dollar we save goes back to supporting the community in a different way,” she said. Such efforts can include a variety of programming and the purchase of food for the organization’s emergency hamper. The hamper supports new parents in a tough situation and without food.
Moose Jaw Family Services ran a clothing drive earlier on Sept. 21 and 22. Afterwards, several men’s winter jackets were left over. The organization decided to donate those jackets to the John Howard Society, and they found their way to those in need. In another instance, the Transition House had many diapers that Family Services distributed to new parents.
“The non-profits in this community have so much support that goes between them all that it’s amazing,” she said. “Moose Jaw amazes us all the time with their generosity.”
“I would like to give a big thank you to Carpet One for the support they gave us, so we can get our programs back up and running,” Jones said.
“We want the community to know they’re not just a business – they (staff at Carpet One) actually are caring people who care about the community and want to do good things.”
The young parent’s program and dad’s group are back up and running. Moose Jaw Family Services is looking for those in the community who need the support offered by either program. Family Services is located at 200 Main Street South and can be reached at 306-694-8133.
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