By Calli Forbes
When Telus employee Nerissa Muxlow was asked to describe her experience volunteering at the Resiliency Centre in Williams Lake, B.C., she only had one word.
“Amazing.”
Nerissa, along with 8 other Telus employees from across British Columbia, volunteered their time as the communities of 100 Mile House and Williams Lake returned home after wildfires forced them to evacuate this summer.
“Working in the call centre (at Telus), you don’t necessarily get that face-to-face experience,” Nerissa says , “so to actually be here in the community and just see everything come together, it’s really rewarding.”
The Telus team worked at re-entry centres set up in both communities where they supported agencies in any way they could. It was all hands on deck – from distributing water and snacks to residents to helping the Red Cross distribute after-fire clean-up kits for their homes. The team even went so far as to help one resident celebrate their 69
th birthday, after it was cancelled because of the evacuation.
“A couple of team members ended up going out, buying her a cake, driving it over to house and threw a little birthday celebration for her,” she says. “Her and her husband had a few tears and then they came back a couple of days ago and visited us just to say thank you.”
Nerissa says she wanted to come because the fires have hit close to home for her – having friends and family who were evacuated themselves. She’s happy to be able to provide support in any way as communities return home.
“I think a lot of people are weary and exhausted with just the whole process of trying to get things back to normal,” she says, “but it’s nice just knowing that we can be a bright and cheery face for them to come home to.”
Thank you, Telus, for supporting the residents of British Columbia as they return home.