Gillian Berridge’s son has been in the Canadian military for a little over a decade. He’s currently in Latvia.
But, as her son serves his country while being deployed abroad, Berridge’s focus is on the vets here at home.
Berridge makes bandanas for dogs, and also sells other items with all proceeds going to the Veterans Association Food Bank, which has moved into a new location near the corner of 184th Street and 111th Avenue, and also has an office and thrift store in Calgary.
The VAFB has shelves stocked with food and household and personal items for needy vets, but it also provides services, like helping with forms that need to be sent off to Veterans Affairs, or connecting people with mental-health services.
And, while Berridge gives much time and effort to helping the VAFB, she thinks it’s a travesty that it needs to exist.
“To be honest, I think it’s awful,” says Berridge, sitting with her grand-daughter, Finley — who loves helping vets in need almost as much as they love having her around — at the VAFB in west Edmonton.” Canada has not looked after its veterans well at all. In my mind, we shouldn’t have to have a food bank for them, but we do.
“I just wanted to do whatever I could to help them out.”
Berridge sells bandannas through her online shop, Forget Me Not Veterans (forgetmenot23.square.site), with proceeds going to the VAFB. She’s made dog bandanas with many colourful designs, from fields of poppies to Oilers orange and blue. She also says that sunflower scarves — for humans — are big sellers, because they are the national flowers of Ukraine.
“I don’t think [vets] can get all the help they can get with their mental health.” says Berridge. “This is one place that can help them out.
It’s not just a food bank, it’s a Veterans Association. But it is quite astonishing, how many veterans are on the streets.”
Bob Cotton, the food bank manager, says the Veterans Association currently works with over 1,060 vets in Edmonton and Calgary (and surrounding areas). Of those, he estimates 160 regularly receive
food hampers.
This article appears in the July/Aug 2023 issue of Edify
