Kamloops Caremongerers come to the rescue again

When Lynn Jones moved to Kamloops from Ontario earlier this year she found herself in a precarious situation she had not predicted.

Due to complications with her moving company, Jones found herself living without any of her stuff in a tiny trailer she purchased. The 61-year-old said she was sleeping on an air mattress in an empty house.

“I arrived with my dog in June,” Jones said. “My furniture and moving boxes were due to arrive the first week of July, but they didn’t arrive until the middle of August. I didn’t have much more than what I was wearing and I don’t have a lot of extra money.”

Jones said she reached out to a Facebook group called Caremongering Kamloops for help and was overwhelmed by the response she received.

“They got me cabinets, a double bed with a frame, pots and pans and a television,” Jones said. “It was crazy. I have never seen anything like this.”

When her furniture finally arrived, Jones said she was able to re-gift items to people who were displaced by wildfires. To pay it forward even more, she handed out packages of food to a couple of people in need.

AnneMarie Aase originally started the Caremongering Kamloops Facebook group last year as a way for the community to connect and help each other out during the pandemic. She said the group’s response to Lynn Jones is a common one.

READ MORE: Kamloops Caremongerers continue to expand services, meet community needs

“The group has expanded and morphed to respond to all kinds of different needs in the community,” Aase said. “This is just a normal response from us. I am very proud of the group that they stepped in and am happy this lady is okay.”

The group is made up of over 5,000 members, mainly local, and continues to expand.

Aase said there are Caremongering groups all across Canada and the Kamloops group is the biggest in the province. Her members often do grocery runs for those with mobility issues, or provide clothing, food and babysitting for single parents, or even just tell jokes to lift each other up.

“It is hard to explain,” Aase said. “We help people in the community and we support each other. The right people came together at the right time.”

Aase moved to Kamloops from Calgary in 2016 and said she is “just an everyday Joe Blow member of the community”.

Unfortunately some precious family items from Jones’ past have not been recovered and she has had to deal with legal matters surrounding the incident, but she said she is forever grateful for the care she received from her community and will continue to pay it forward. 

You can join Caremongering Kamloops here.

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