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Surrey rally to take aim at gangs and drugs Thursday at city hall, Holland Park

PICS also hosting gala dinner with former B.C. Premier Glen Clark as guest speaker
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Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, speaks during the 2019 Drug & Gang Free Surrey Walk hosted by PICS. (Photo: pics.bc.ca)

Surrey’s PICS organization is holding another “Car Rally and Walk for Drug and Gang Free Communities” this Thursday morning and afternoon (Aug. 18).

It’s part of a REACH (Realize, Educate, Accept, Communicate, Help) initiative “to create awareness and share information about available resources for having drug- and gang-free communities,” says an event advisory from PICS, or Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society.

“We are all aware of the recent spike in the number of gang-related killings,” says a post on Facebook. “We must also be aware that it is our responsibility to take control of the situation by spreading awareness as much as we can, in order to prevent more people from joining gangs.

“We must get together to help the vulnerable and the at-risk people!”

Thursday’s car rally will travel north from the PICS head office to Surrey City Hall, for 11 a.m. arrival. Participants will then walk to Holland Park for speeches and activities, until 2 p.m.

Looking ahead, 900 tickets are available for PICS’ 35th annual gala and fundraiser, planned for Sept. 16 at Reflections banquet hall on 152A St., Surrey, with former B.C. Premier Glen Clark as guest speaker.

Tickets are priced at $135 each, or $1,200 for nine guests at a table. Sponsorship packages range from $2,500 to $20,000. Look for event details on pics.bc.ca, or call 604-596-7722.

• RELATED: PICS celebrates 35 years of community building in Surrey.

• READ ALSO: Wing of Gill’s ‘dream project’ with PICS to bear his name in Cloverdale.

In February 2021, PICS quickly moved to honour the work and legacy of Charanpal (Charan) Gill, founder and former CEO of the non-profit. A wing of Gill’s “dream project,” Guru Nanak Diversity Village in Cloverdale, will bear the name of the community worker and social activist, who died Feb. 2, 2021, at Langley Memorial Hospital following a battle with cancer. He was 84.

• READ MORE: Cloverdale to get another commemorative street name; ‘Guru Nanak Village Way’ proposed for 6400-block of 175A Street.

Gagandeep Bal, PICS’ interim communications and fundraising officer, said the organization now awaits permits to build the facility for seniors.

“Construction should begin on the project early April/May of 2023,” Bal said in an email to the Now-Leader. “We will be holding a radiothon again on Nov. 8, 2022, to raise funds for this project.”



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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