New ride for ministry
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Updated: November 20, 2009 4:37 PM
In less than a week, an Abbotsford ministry’s new mode of transportation will be painted black and adorned with seven-foot-wide red decals.
Until then, however, anyone who sees group founder Ward Draper driving around town will have little trouble pinpointing the vehicle’s origins.
Draper, who established the Christian-based 5 And 2 Ministries (formerly Streethope) five years ago, is now using a 1991 delivery van – bought from the Abbotsford News for $1 – as the organization’s portable headquarters.
It’s a relief for Draper, whose previous van failed a police vehicle inspection two months ago and was pulled from the road.
The 5 And 2 Ministries provides numerous services to poor and homeless people, and is on the street most nights handing out coffee and snacks. The group also provides a weekly meal, regularly feeding 150 to 200 people in the Jubilee Park parking lot in downtown Abbotsford.
Draper and his previous van, which he branded “The Nightmare” due to its poor condition, were featured in an Abbotsford News series on the homeless in September.
Just a few days later, according to Draper, “The Nightmare” was pulled over by police. Because the ministry operates on a shoestring, and the vehicle was only worth $500, Draper said it made no economic sense to make the necessary repairs.
The ministry continued without the van, but it was a challenge to rely on friends and volunteers to lend their vehicles for the job.
Help came from The News. And after Draper collected the keys two weeks ago, volunteers gathered $1,500 from a fundraiser to pay for one year of insurance and the van’s new paint job.
“We were still able to do stuff (without it), but it was proving to be a logistical nightmare,” said Draper. “This was a great score. We will be able to do a lot more now.”
