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Burnaby Shred-A-Thon helps women overcome addictions

Charlford House Society for Women will be holding its 4th annual Shred-a-Thon on Saturday, April 27 at Lochdale Community School (6990 Aubrey Street in Burnaby)from 10am to 2pm.
shredding
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Charlford House Society for Women will be holding its 4th annual Shred-a-Thon on Saturday, April 27 at Lochdale Community School (6990 Aubrey Street in Burnaby)from 10am to 2pm.

Secure paper shredding will be by donation, benefitting the Society’s recovery home. Sponsors VanCity and Urban Impact staff will be on hand to help unload vehicles. “No load is too big or too small”, says Charlford House’s Executive Director Miranda Vecchio.

For the fourth year, Urban Impact will donate use of their mobile shredder, “a huge truck that looks like a garbage truck, but it has a ginormous shredding machine”, says Vecchio. She says kids (and adults) get a thrill watching the shredder in action and it has become a draw.

VanCity staff will also be there serving BBQ lunch and goodies, available by donation. The credit union’s Burnaby branches have been Shred-a-thon partners since Vecchio reached out four years ago: “VanCity said yes right away. They make the arrangements with Urban Impact every year”.

Charlford House aims to raise $2,500 at the Shred-a-Thon. Vecchio says proceeds will benefit the residential program’s general operations: “We are inthe business of saving lives and we need every penny”.

The non-profit society has operated their 15-bed recovery home in Burnaby since 1970 and has helped thousands of women from across the province to overcome alcohol and drug addiction.

With the recent rise in opioid overdoses, Charlford House’s program is more critical than ever. Vecchio says “the more people I talk to in the community, the more people tell me that someone they know died from an overdose”. She says she doesn’t know anyone who hasn’t been affected by addiction.