Two years after the Bush Creek East wildfire destroyed 177 homes in the North Shuswap, a non-profit society formed in the wake of the devastating blaze is preparing to close its doors for good. The North Shuswap Disaster Relief Society was tasked with distributing money raised by the Shuswap Community Foundation. It focused on helping uninsured residents who had lost their homes find a way to stay in the North Shuswap. Over the last two years, the NSDRS has distributed $778,978 and helped 42 uninsured families rebuild their lives. Humble beginnings The non-profit society began with a phone call just a few weeks after the fire, according to board chair Doug Easterbrook. “One of our local community members, Kris Jensen, who was in the Shuswap Community Foundation …called up and said, ‘Hey, we should get together and talk about this darn fire,'” Easterbrook said. “A bunch of us had things like survivor’s guilt. We're within half a kilometre of being burnt, but there are people far worse off than us.” At that point, Shuswap Community Foundation had already started to receive donations to help those affected by the fire, but Easterbrook said the foundation had no mechanism to distribute the money without a non-profit organization. “The Shuswap Community Foundation cannot give money to people, and beyond that, they didn't have any sort of infrastructure to give money to people,” he said. The North Shuswap Disaster Relief Society was formed on Oct. 25, 2023, with Doug Easterbrook as the chair, working alongside Deb Seymour, Ted Danyluk, Kris Jensen and Bill Holtby. The goal of the organization was to help anyone who was uninsured and lost their home in the disaster. “We felt that people who had insurance would be taken care of one way or another, or had the financial resources to be able to deal with that,” Easterbrook said. “Our mission was really simple, to bring people back home.” By mid-November 2023, the NSDRS had received $75,000 from the Shuswap Community Foundation and used $52,000 to help seven families start rebuilding. Easterbrook said one key way the organization operated was by sending its representatives to see the affected properties in order to understand the needs of the people they were helping. “If somebody said ‘I need help,' we went out, we looked at their site," he said. "'Show me what burnt. What are you trying to do? What are your goals?'” Easterbrook said most people did not have an immediate answer, but together, they were able to work out a way to help them get back on their feet. The organization helped residents with about 120 capital projects, assisting them in a variety of ways and help them rebuild their life. These projects included the installation of electrical poles or other utility infrastructure, used recreational vehicles to live in, winterizing RVs for year-round habitation, and a host of other things. “We dealt with one farmer. …We paid $4,500 for a kit greenhouse, not a small one,” he said. “And he put all that together, but we had to get it in place before the snow flew so that he could germinate his seedlings.” He said the farmer originally tried to fund the project through a government program, but it would have taken a year to get approved. “It's only going to cost $4,500 for this guy to be able to live for the rest of his life,” Easterbrook said “Seems like a no-brainer, because he's got a family and he’s got to feed them.” The work was long and often frustrating, but Easterbrook said he felt it was extremely rewarding in the end. “Just watching people and the glee as they felt that they had hope,” he said. Help from partnerships One of the aid organizations Easterbrook said was incredibly helpful during the recovery was the Mennonite Disaster Service. He said with help from the MDS, six families were able to have new homes built. “Their basic premise is, if the materials are paid for, they will build it,” Easterbook said. Thanks to partnerships with Interfor in Adam’s Lake and Canoe Forestry Products, the NSDRS were able to purchase lumber and plywood at cost. With labour provided by the MDS, they were able to multiply the value of donated funds. “They would turn our $40,000 per person donation into about a $200,000 home," he said. Despite all the people the society assisted, Easterbrook said he’s still thinking about the families they have not been able to help. “I wish that we had enough to finish it, because if we did then we would,” he said. Easterbrook said there are four or five people currently waiting for income-assisted apartments in Chase. Easterbrook said he also knows of five families up in Lee Creek Heights who were promised homes from the Mennonite Disaster Service, but will still need assistance paying for materials. “There's really not much left to do other than four trailers and five houses," he said. 'Not one size fits all' Easterbrook credits the organization’s success with an entrepreneurial model, a flexible approach, and a hardworking group of people. “We built a company, we set up missions, objectives, business procedures, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “Normally, when people put together programs, they try to make it one size fits all. This was definitely not one size fits all.” Easterbrook said as chair of the board, he was tasked with creating agendas, “and maybe one or two other things.” But he said hard work and co-operation from the rest of the committee made the society a success. “Everybody on the committee fired as a well-oiled engine," he said. Administrative work and documentation took up hours of work, Easterbrook said, but visiting the people they helped “was the happy part.” “Going out to tell them they got some money, and just the way they break down. …Tears of happiness. It was great.” In two years of operation, the NSDRS spent only $2,817.95 in administrative costs, with the majority of it spent on director's insurance, website operation and bank fees. With the donations from the Shuswap Community Foundation running dry, Easterbrook said the board has agreed it’s time to shut down the NSDRS. The NSDRS has one final board meeting scheduled in September. They plan to hand back the remaining $2,965 to the Shuswap Community Foundation, and shut the doors for good.