'A new beginning': Calgary family in need helped by local charity
A group of volunteers spent their Saturday morning outfitting a Calgary home with new appliances, furniture and food for a family in need.
Stephen's Backpacks Society, an organization that helps those experiencing homelessness, led the furnishing charge.
The group pitched in their time to set up a home for a family of four fleeing domestic violence. That family recently left Calgary's Discovery House.
"To move out with your kids into an empty home with a few makeshift beds and try to furnish it…I can't even imagine what that would be like," organizer Nancy McPhee told CTV News. "It's just so wonderful to give a family a new beginning."
The group paired with company Kidoodle.TV to bring in new beds, shelves and appliances. They even donated a barbecue and television.
Staff members spent their morning working on the home. They left Saturday afternoon, before the family came back.
"Because we're not doing this for a 'thank you,'" McPhee said. "But I'd love to be a fly on the wall (when the family comes home)."
Stephen's Backpacks Society has outfitted almost three dozen homes in a similar fashion throughout the last 16 years. It's also helped thousands of underprivileged Calgary children.
"It's just like a heartbeat that keeps beating louder and louder, and I think it's because of wonderful people that come alongside and say, 'what can we do to help?'" McPhee said.
Volunteer Clara MacRaild says pitching in made her weekend.
"Being able to give back to the community in this way is so impactful," she said.
She's part of Kidoodle.TV, which is also giving the family vouchers for free food for a year.
"This is exactly what we need to be doing more of," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Some emergency rooms across Canada shutting down amid staff shortages
Hospitals overwhelmed by the pandemic’s onslaught are still facing a number of challenges, causing unprecedented wait times in emergency rooms across the country.

'Incompetence is incalculable': Airport frustrations sour Canadians' summer travel plans
CTVNews.ca asked Canadians to share their travel horror stories as cancelled flights, delays and lost luggage throw a wrench in Canadians' summer travel plans, due in part to staffing shortages at Canadian airports. Some report sleeping at airports and others say it took days to get to or from a destination.
Russian ship carrying Ukrainian grain detained by Turkish customs, ambassador says
Turkish customs authorities have detained a Russian cargo ship carrying grain which Ukraine says is stolen, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said on Sunday.
Splintered Ukrainian city braces for new battle with Russia
Slovyansk could become the next major target in Moscow's campaign to take the Donbas region, Ukraine's predominantly Russian-speaking industrial heartland.
Gunmen killed in Saanich bank shootout identified as twin brothers
Twin brothers in their early 20s were responsible for the shooting that injured numerous police officers at a bank in Saanich, B.C., earlier this week, RCMP alleged Saturday.
Calgary's new 'Museum of Failure' aims to spark creativity
It's been said no one's success is complete without failure, but a new international exhibit in Calgary is proving that even some of the most talented innovators had some of the worst ideas for consumers.
'Ungrading': How one Ontario teacher is changing her approach to report cards
An Ontario high school teacher plans to continue with an alternative method of grading her students after an experiment last semester in which students proposed a grade and had to justify it with examples of their work.
Heavy rains, floods prompt evacuations of Sydney suburbs
Thousands of residents in Sydney suburbs were told to evacuate their homes on Sunday after heavy rains caused floodwaters to rise and rivers to overflow in what authorities called life-threatening emergencies.
Retailers grapple with soaring fuel surcharges to ship online orders
Canadian retailers are struggling with higher shipping costs as couriers tack hefty fuel surcharges onto shipping rates to recoup record gas prices. The additional charge is sending the cost of shipping goods within Canada higher, topping 40 per cent for some carriers.