When the COVID-19 pandemic turned our program upside down, friends new and old stepped up to help us reach hungry kids who had suddenly lost access to their school’s hot meal program. With schools closed, our kids needed more meals at home to sustain them through the pandemic.
Rick’s Heart Foundation joined the Backpack Buddies family in the fall of 2019, helping us make some of our first deliveries to Vancouver Island. Rick Diamond, the founder of Rick’s Heart Foundation, also owns Diamond Delivery, and very generously lent his team and a truck to get us into Gold River for the first time.
“Not many companies go up to Gold River because it’s not an easy community to get to,” explains Rick. “If I couldn’t find someone who could get it done, then I was going to hop on the ferry myself.”
Rick established his foundation to tackle homelessness, hunger, wellness and addiction in B.C. A self-described ‘child at heart’ Rick is passionate about having fun while making the world a better place. That’s why when we reached out to him for help with making deliveries to hungry kids at home, Rick stepped up without hesitation.
“It’s about doing the right thing.”
– Rick
Founder of Rick’s Heart Foundation
“Poverty is going to get worse with COVID-19. I really truly live in my heart and have a lot of compassion. There are parents who are not working and might not get back to work any time soon. It’s really tough what’s going on for them and their families.”
Through the pandemic, Rick and his team have been picking up food and delivering to our warehouse, as well as transporting food to Victoria and Nanaimo for distribution on Vancouver Island. Rick even sponsored a school in Surrey so that we could provide bags of food to the kids there.
Rick’s big heart is truly remarkable. We couldn’t have made it without him.
