Faith&Friends
SOMEONE CARES
Roadside Assistance Salvation Army serves meals to hundreds of people stranded at provincial border. by Angela Rafuse
Assembly Line Volunteers prepare more than 500 sandwiches at The Salvation Army’s Truro church
W
hen hundreds of truckers and motorists were suddenly stranded at the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border due to protests over COVID19 restrictions, the Salvation Army churches in Truro and Springhill, N.S., stepped up to provide food, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care. “Urgent Need” The protests began on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 22. By Wednesday morning, word was spreading that hundreds of people were held up at the provincial border with no choice but to wait. While many were redirected into the town of Amherst,
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N.S., others were waiting on the highway with no access to food or water. Learning this, The Salvation Army leapt into action. Each church location began by preparing sandwiches—volunteers in Truro prepared more than 500 while volunteers in Springhill prepared 250. They packed the sandwiches into bagged lunches, which included granola bars, sweet treats and bottled water. “The volunteers did an exceptional job,” explains Jan Keats, emergency disaster services co-ordinator for The Salvation Army Maritime Division. “People were in urgent need of food, and the hard work of the volunteers made it possible for us to serve.”