Enderby may be a small town, but it’s full of various services that local residents may not know about.
That’s why residents were given the chance to “get connected” and find out what their community has to offer.
WorkBC Enderby hosted its first Get Connected service provider fair at the seniors complex Tuesday, May 7, bringing 21 organizations together into one room for residents to speak to and learn about.
Tanya Carre, team lead for the WorkBC Enderby Centre, said the service provider fair aims to be a vital source of information about services offered locally.
“It’s so people in the community can get to know where to go for resources. Lots of the time (Enderby residents) think they have to go to Salmon Arm or Vernon, and they don’t realize that you can access services here,” Carre said.
Represented at the service provider fair was organizations including Interior Health, WorkBC, Enderby and District Community Resource Centre, Enderby Food Bank, Shuswap Immigrant Services Society, Enderby and District Recreation Services and more.
Some of the organizations operate in Enderby a couple days a week, while others are in the community full-time.
Carre said the hope of the event is to allow residents to “know where to access services, to know who to talk to and also that we as service providers know who to refer other people to.”
Sheryl Hay, with Enderby and District Recreation Services, was at the fair letting people know about the many ways to stay active in the community.
“We’re sharing with people all the different programs we have for all ages, from preschool and youth as well as senior and adult fitness programs,” Hay said. “We’re also here because it’s pool season and we’re really promoting our outdoor pool and getting people excited about the new pool that we will be opening in 2026.”
Hay had good things to say about the Get Connected fair and its role in circulating important local information.
“There’s so many services in our small community as well as the surrounding area, but it’s hard to get the word out,” she said. “So one-on-one connection like this and giving people information and letting them know what’s out there is really important.”
The Enderby and District Community Resource Centre was showcasing one of its many programs, the Enderby Good Food Box, at the event. Vallerie Byrne explained the program allows anyone to register for $60 worth of fresh produce for just $20.
“You can sponsor a family and the program will make sure that that box gets delivered to the family that you sponsored to their doorstep every month,” Byrne said. “We’re pretty much trying to make sure nobody goes hungry.”
The Good Food Box program distributes food out of the seniors complex, where the Get Connected event was held.
Byrne said she found the event to be informative: “I already found two programs I had never even heard about.”
Carre said the hope is to repeat the Get Connected fair every one or two years.
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