Kelowna resident Shannon Christensen is the founder of Mamas for Mamas, a charitable organization operating out of Kelowna.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

A non-profit supporting families with poverty-related challenges will no longer be operating out of its Penticton location.

Headquartered in Kelowna, Mamas for Mamas has been operating a storage unit and running its operations out of the Ooknakane Friendship Centre in Penticton since the spring of 2021.

While some South Okanagan residents may be concerned about the withdrawal of the supportive service, CEO and founder of Mamas for Mamas Shannon Christensen said “we’re not shutting down or leaving people behind.”

“The Penticton branch will remain active on the Facebook page and we’ll be driving a van out every month to deliver the items people need,” she said.

Mamas for Mamas was started in Kelowna in 2014 when Christensen was a mother of young children. It started on Facebook as a sharing economy where items for families were donated and provided to families for free and volunteers were recruited to provide supports. It has since expanded across western Canada with digital and bricks-and-mortar locations.

During the COVID pandemic, Christensen established some “pop-up” locations in western Canada — like the one in Penticton — and a couple of those outlets are closing.

“With people going back to work we don’t have the same number of volunteers and free spaces so we’ll wait until we’re confident we can fundraise enough overhead for longer term physical locations.”

Christensen said there are bigger plans in the future for the Penticton location.

“We’re working with a company that does modular homes and are big supporters of us, working to find a free space to use,” she said. “I’d like to see Penticton become its own big branch in the next couple of years similar to the one in Kelowna. We want to build up some funding and hire some people to build it.”

READ MORE: Housing prices aren't the only thing attracting people away from Kamloops, Okanagan

When asked whether or not the funds raised in Penticton will remain in that community or go to the organization’s general funds, Christensen confirmed any money raised stays local so the money from Penticton goes back to Penticton and they keep track of that.

"We have a system so its easy to track what money is coming from each branch, we don’t take a percentage at head office for processing, we just get it to the communities." 

The Mamas for Mamas head office is located at 120-1735 Dolphin Ave. in Kelowna where clinical and counselling support services are offered. Christensen has a background in specialized trauma therapy and has other volunteer members onboard with trauma informed backgrounds. One block away is a Karma Market where moms can pick up items for free or drop off donations.

READ MORE: Demand for food doubles in three years at Central Okanagan food banks

In each of the chapters across Canada there are Resource Coordinators who volunteer their time not only to produce a list of community agencies that can help those in poverty but who also assist those people in finding the best match for their needs.

Go here for more information, to volunteer or to make a donation.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2023