Chilliwack Search and Rescue sets $1 million fundraising goal towards new facility

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Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / The current Chilliwack Search and Rescue building on Fifth Avenue in Chilliwack. Chilliwack Search and Rescue says it has outgrown its aging facility due to its training and equipment needs.

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Toward that end, Chilliwack and Search and Rescue has established a $1 million fundraising goal in hopes of building a new facility this year at its current location in an industrial area on Fifth Avenue, north of the highway.

Tom Pearson with CSAR says the overall budget for the first phase of the building, which covers office space, meeting areas, and command space along with five drive-through bays, is $3 million.

“We are incredibly grateful to the City of Chilliwack who have graciously agreed to allow us to continue using the land the current building is on, given the lack of availability of alternative sites and the astronomical increase in commercial land costs,” Pearson said. “This was essential to making this project a possibility.”

In addition to the land agreement, the City of Chilliwack has also added $1 million to the budget over the next two years as well as giving the organization full endorsement for the project.

“It is our pleasure to be able to provide $1 million towards Chilliwack Search and Rescue’s new building project,” Mayor Ken Popove said in a statement supplied by CSAR. “Chilliwack City Council is grateful for the time and effort these volunteers put in to keeping residents and visitors of the region safe and we look forward to seeing their new building become a reality.”

Prior to approaching the city for support, Chilliwack Search and Rescue, as a team, has been saving funds, donations, task reimbursements and donating back volunteer expenses over the past 15 years to raise approximately $1 million for this project. That leaves the organization with a fundraising target of $1 million. It hopes to raise this amount before July 2023 as the build is planned to start in September 2023.

“We have hired Gerry Enns Contracting for the design and build and will be aiming to use as many local suppliers as possible to help make this a reality,” Pearson said. “Our initial fundraising plan is to use the promotional materials we have been busy creating (video, flyers, presentations, etc.) to reach out to the local business community and general public in the hope of getting close to our goal as quickly as possible. Given that we are embarking on this fundraising ourselves, as volunteers, we are trying to minimize the time needed to plan and organize large events.”

CSAR says the building project will last approximately nine months.

Visit https://chilliwacksar.org/donate/ for more information.