People's spirits weren't the only things dampened when a surprise greeted Lo-Se-Ca staffers last Tuesday. An unexpected deluge of water damaged ceiling tiles, walls and sent a lot of donated clothes and other items to the dumpster. New donations were turned away.
The good news is that things have dried out enough for the thrift store to be back in business.
"It's open now. It re-opened on Saturday," stated Marie Renaud, the executive director of the organization located in Campbell Business Park. "It closed for the week. We had a hot water tank just burst up here."
That happened Monday evening. She said that when she opened up the doors the next morning, "it was just flooded.
"It was like emergency mode. We have no walls in the day program area. We won't be open for the day programs for another two weeks at least."
Now, things are in the hands of the insurance company. Thankfully, people looking for Halloween costume items or other household knick-knacks can shop once again.
Lo-Se-Ca means Love-Service-Care. For almost two decades, it has been working to help adults with developmental disabilities in the St. Albert and Edmonton areas.
While staff members keep plugging away at getting things back to normal, Renaud also wants to promote the upcoming 10th annual silent and live auction event as another way that concerned members of the public can show their support for the non-profit organization in its time of need.
That takes place next Friday, Nov. 4 at the Italian Cultural Centre along St. Albert Trail in Edmonton. Tickets are $55 each. Call 780-460-1400 or visit www.loseca.ca for more information.
SACF had a little glitch with its recent grant requests
The St. Albert Community Foundation needs to hear back from people who have made recent grant requests. A computer glitch might have prevented some submissions from getting through.
Dave Reidie, executive director of the organization, explained the problem. It was first noticed by an applicant who called in to verify receipt.
"The glitch is fixed. We had our new website up and running. When they sent in the application, wherever they went, they went into cyberspace somewhere. Since then it's been fixed. If we've lost any applications, and people are making the assumption that we've got them, well, we may not have them."
To make sure that there's enough time for all applications to be accounted for, the foundation has extended the deadline to Friday, Nov. 4.
To get in contact with the foundation, please call 780-458-8351 or visit www.sacf.ca.
