Donations and heartfelt messages from across the province are pouring in to support the families of the Nelson police officers who were caught in an avalanche just north of Kaslo.
Fundraisers to support the families of Wade Tittemore, 43, and Mathieu Nolet, 28, have already garnered over $37,000 through a gofundme page and more fundraisers are sparking up across the region.
Nelson police chief Donovan Fisher expressed his appreciation during a police board meeting, saying the department is touched by the amount of support that has been coming in.
“The community, I think, is supporting the police,” Fisher says. “This is a good opportunity to say thank you for all the support the department has received. We have received food, flowers, and emails.”
Nelson Police Foundation chair Tanya Finley says originally the foundation had a fundraiser put together to support the local detachment but after recent events the focus has changed.
“It originally started out as a fundraiser for the Nelson Police Foundation, to support the officers,” she says. “Unfortunately, we had a tragic event which has caused us to shift the focus to support those officers, families, and department that supported us.”
Finley says she is touched by the amount of support pouring into the foundation and feels the community has really come together.
“It makes me proud of our community that we do stand beside our police force,” she says. “We also have a foundation if people want to donate directly we can write you a tax receipt, and all donations go directly to the families.”
A fundraiser will be held at Finley’s Bar and Grill on Jan. 28.
St. Joseph school will also be providing blue ribbons, which will be available by donation, to support the families of Tittemore and Nolet.
Tittemore died in the slide on Monday while Nolet was critically injured.