Providence in the Park - Clothing and Healthy Lunches for Downtown Eastside Residents

Vancouver, April 17, 2009 — On Saturday April 18, Providence Health Care (PHC) will be providing healthy lunches, clothing, socks and toiletries to more than 500 residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Staff, physicians and volunteers from across PHC will gather at Oppenheimer Park beginning at 11am, at the corner of Cordova Street and Dunlevy Avenue, to distribute the provisions.
This is the sixth year that PHC has come to Oppenheimer Park to help. Staff who were unable to volunteer their time have showed their generosity of spirit by donating clothes and toiletries or making monetary donations towards the event. Many attendees to this highly anticipated event are homeless or poor families in need of food and care.

“It is our hope that one day each resident of the Downtown Eastside will have the food, clothing and shelter they need; but until that day, PHC will continue to support these members of our community through the generosity and compassion of our staff, their families, and our sponsors,” says Thomas Salley, PHC’s Mission Director.

Those in need will have the opportunity to receive a haircut, courtesy of PHC staff and volunteers. Patterson Dental has donated 100 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste and food for the event will be provided by Sodexho, Tzu Chi Foundation and Coca-Cola®. Transportation of goods to Oppenheimer Park is courtesy of Kennedy Office Moving Services.

Providence Health Care (PHC) is one of Canada's largest faith-based health care organizations, operating 14 health care facilities in Greater Vancouver. Guided by the principle “How you want to be treated,” PHC's 1,200 physicians and 6,000 staff deliver compassionate care to patients and residents in British Columbia.

Providence’s programs and services span the complete continuum of care and serve people throughout B.C. As a renowned academic health science leader, PHC operates one of two teaching hospitals in the province, performs cutting-edge research in more than 30 clinical specialties, and focuses its services on six “populations of emphasis”: cardio-pulmonary risks and illnesses, HIV/AIDS, mental health, renal risks and illness, specialized needs in aging and urban health. To learn more about Providence Health Care, please visit our website at http://www.providencehealthcare.ca/.

For more information, please contact the PHC Communications Media Pager at 604-252-4261.