Vancouver company says ‘thank you’ to frontline workers at Lynn Valley Care Centre amid pandemic

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A special delivery has been received by staff at a North Vancouver care centre which has been one of the hardest-hit facilities by COVID-19.

A Vancouver-based wellness company put together 100 care packages for the frontline workers at the Lynn Valley Care Centre, during what has been a difficult time.

“When we heard about how the coronavirus had devastated the Lynn Valley Care Centre, we knew we wanted to help boost morale there,” Humzen co-founder Ashley Lenz told NEWS 1130.

Humzen’s mission is to “combat employee burnout,” something Lenz said frontline care workers are at a high risk of right now.

“There’s actually a couple of stories about workers unable to return home to their families after their long shifts, they’re staying in Airbnbs, they don’t have the comfort of home. All so as to not spread the virus to their loved ones.”

The care packs were dropped off on Thursday, filled with various items like snacks, coffee, and lotions, all sourced from 10 companies in B.C.

Humzen’s Ashley Lenz reached out to 10 companies to help fill care packages for staff at the Lynn Valley Care Centre. (Submitted: Ashley Lenz)

In addition to the various items is a thank-you note.

“If anything, we hope these care packages serve as a thank you for those helping protect our community, and we couldn’t be more grateful for how they’ve served our community and country during this incredible time,” Lenz said.

Only a few people at Lynn Valley were given a heads-up about the delivery, but Lenz said other than the fact the care packages were coming, they didn’t really know what was in them.

Lenz added she made sure she could make these donations, and took the appropriate steps.

“We called the care centre themselves and said, ‘We have this wild idea, are we able to donate these things to you? Will you accept them? And how can we get them to you safely?” she explained. “So we made a little plan with them on how to do a curb-side drop off.”

One hundred care packages have been delivered to staff at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver. (Submitted: Ashley Lenz)

Lenz said she was also the only person to actually package the boxes, so as to limit the number of people touching the items. She also disinfected whatever items she could and wore gloves and a mask while putting the care packages together.

“I spent hours with Lysol wiping down every bottle of kombucha, and then all of the products themselves are all made in facilities that are sanitized.”

The Lynn Valley Care Centre has recorded dozens of cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began, including a number of deaths.

The coronavirus has since spread to more than 20 care homes across B.C.

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