City of Castlegar and Celgar donate thousands to Japan
By Contributor
Castlegar Council met in an emergency meeting today to approve a special donation to the Canadian Red Cross Society for Japan aid relief in recognition of Castlegar’s sister city Embetsu in Japan. Council approved a motion to send a dollar for every man, woman and child in Castlegar to the relief program.
“We are deeply concerned over the tragedy that has enveloped Japan and a number of our residents who have been host families for Japanese exchange students have been calling to urge council to support the relief movement,” said mayor Lawrence Chernoff. “We hope that all B.C. municipalities will see their way clear to making a donation to the relief program. The conditions in Japan are almost beyond belief and we want to send a gesture of support to our sister city’s nation.
“We agree with Premier Clark, who asked for B.C. towns and cities to support their sister cities in Japan. We have a valuable and long-running Embetsu student exchange and a strong working relationship with the Town of Embetsu. We hope that all of our former exchange students and host families are safe and healthy. “I am also very pleased to announce that Castlegar’s largest private sector employer, Zellstoff Celgar, has just told us this morning that they will be contributing $10,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Society for aid relief to Japan. Zellstoff Celgar’s donation is made on behalf of its employees, who selected the Red Cross as a recipient for a donation a few weeks ago. In light of the recent developments in Japan, Celgar’s donation to the Red Cross is even more relevant. We want to thank Zellstoff Celgar for their valuable contribution and for working with us to support our community’s sister city.”
Comments