There’s no half measures for the Township of Langley Firefighters Charitable Society.
Their second annual Mayor’s Charitable Gala in September raised six figures and about three quarters of that was slated to go to the Langley Hospice Society which is in the process of building a new 15-bed hospice residence.
The society was expecting just under $480,000, an amount that amazed the local charity that offers end of life care at an aging facility on the grounds of Langley Memorial Hospital.
Then the firefighters ‘topped it up’ and on Monday presented the society with $500,000 at the Township council meeting.
“That was a beautiful surprise,” said Shannon Todd Booth, hospice’s Communications and Funds Development manager.
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The Langley Hospice Society board and staff were already overwhelmed by the support of the firefighters, the Township, and the entire community of donors, sponsors and others.
“They’ve been amazing to work with,” she said of the gala organizers.
The donation is “huge for us,” she noted.
Work has been delayed at the site of the new hospice residence at 219th Street and 52nd Avenue but the pieces are finally falling into place.
She said the next step is doing some environmental work about sediment control. That allows for drilling to begin and the major work to get started.
“We’re competing with the weather a little bit,” she explained.
Next would come the retaining walls, road construction, and more.
“It looks like with the weather, formal construction isn’t going to begin until the new year,” Todd Booth said.
Construction will take place throughout 2020 and possibly beyond.
“We’re looking at a 12-month build schedule, once construction starts, but again that’s contingent on best case scenario where our weather’s concerned,” she said.