Madam Speaker, on Sunday, November 4, a golden jubilee community celebration will be held in Parksville to mark the 50th anniversary of the Society of Organized Services. Known to residents and visitors as the SOS, this beloved agency provides vital social services to communities throughout the Oceanside region on Vancouver Island.
It provides after-school homework assistance for students, meals on wheels for seniors and a homeless prevention program, which has found housing for 44 people at immediate risk of homelessness and has provided one-time crisis housing support for another 10.
The next time members are at the SOS thrift store in Parksville, they should check out their 18,000 square feet of savings and say hello to some of the over 350 selfless individuals who volunteer their time to SOS each year. SOS continues to lead the way in assisting the most vulnerable in our communities and will continue to do so, I am sure, for another 50 years.