President Charan Gill Says The Fundraising Event Is For Everyone Of All Political Stripes!

By R. Paul Dhilllon

SURREY – You can do your part in helping Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) achieve their goal of raising $310,000 towards their new seniors home project after their two earlier projects that are a great place for South Asian seniors to live out their last years with all the comforts of home and their cultural and social needs fulfilled.

PICS’ always energetic president Charan Gill says the society has already raised $90,000 and need to meet their down payment goal of $400,000 for their newly proposed 125 bed facility in Surrey.

Gill told the LINK during a visit to our offices this week that he is wrongly pigeon-holed as being NDPer for his long association with the party in the past and for his left-leaning work – but PICS is a community organization that serves everyone.

“Our work at PICS,  this fundraising event Blast From The Past, is for everyone and we are inviting people of all political stripes – NDPers, Liberals, Conservatives and anyone else,” Gill said.

“We have received a lot of funding from the provincial Liberal government as well as Conservatives as we are here for the community and not any particular party or ideology. Our main ideology is to serve people and this community,” Gill said.

PICS is working with the City of Surrey on securing a number of sites to build their new facility.

Gilll said that all levels of government realize that more bed spaces are needed for our South Asian seniors with PICS’ current facilities being oversubscribed with very happy and healthy seniors – whether they be Muslim, Sikh or Hindu – having all their cultural and food needs fulfilled.

“We have halal meat for our Muslims seniors, chai and chicken curry the way South Asians like their food and in their language of Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. The seniors live out very healthy and long lives in our facilities, whereas if they are placed in other mainstream facilities, studies have shown that they are not as happy and tend to die off much quickly,” Gill said.

You can do your part in attending a fundraising night filled with music and style from one of the best eras yet: the 80’s on Saturday, March 22nd. The PICS Multicultural Long-Term Home Fundraiser will take place at Royal King Palace (365-8158, 128th Street, Surrey). Doors open at 6:30pm.

There will be dinner, entertainment, silent auction, fun contests and lots of prize giveaways. For more information and to purchase tickets, please contact Rina Gill at 778.688.4973 or Shima Ghailan at 604.596.7722.