There’s nothing quite so nice as having a friend or neighbour help us dig out after Mother Nature serves up a substantial snow fall.
Both ahead of and following a storm that dumped between 25 and 75 centimetres of snow on parts of Ontario and Quebec, about 15 members of the Bradford chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), volunteered to clear the driveways of seniors and other vulnerable residents.
“We’re always there to help, whether it’s snow or any other help they need,” Salman Ahmad, AMYA’s serving regional president for the Simcoe branch said.
In total, AMYA reports three members cleared seven driveways on Feb. 3, five members cleared seven driveways on Feb. 13, eight members cleared 14 driveways on Feb. 16 and five member cleared three driveways on Feb. 17.
That followed posts the group made on social media in recent months letting the community know they would clear snow for free for any vulnerable residents who couldn’t do it themselves, and asking anyone in need to reach out.
“This is what our faith teaches us: to be part of the community, help the community and help people who are in the need,” Ahmad said.
He estimated the group has been providing the service in town for the last four years and said it feels “very satisfying” to give back to the community.
While all of the recent work was done by shovel, Ahmad said the group is considering purchasing a snowblower, both to help deal with the increasing need and also to make things easier for the group.
AMYA is an auxiliary organization of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (AMJ) Canada, a non-profit charity organization headquartered in Vaughan, and its youth members are active in numerous projects across Canada including blood drives, city and park cleanups, adopt a road programs, food drives, fundraising activities for Africa, planting, and career counselling.
For more information, visit mercy4mankind.ca. To request help with snow clearing, email [email protected].