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From Sunriver to High River

Locals organize bottle drive to help flood victims
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Jamie Newman (left) and Tara Ferguson (right)

A local resident is doing what she can to help the people in High River, Alberta, deal with their ongoing recovery from the recent floods.

On Sunday, July 14, Jamie Newman will be accepting bottles at her house, 6488 Cedarview Place in Sunriver, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. These bottles will be converted to cash, and the funds will be directly donated to a church in High River, so they can pass along the proceeds to where they are most needed.

Newman is motivated to do something on their behalf as she comes from High River, and her mother and grandmother are still living there.

“My grandma’s house was severely damaged; my mom’s was saved by luck,” said Newman. “I wanted more than anything to go and help rebuild and lend a helping hand, but bringing my small children to a disaster zone is not feasible or safe. This is my way of helping.”

She has distributed a flyer and a garbage bag (for collection purposes) to all the houses in Sunriver. Ideally, people can deliver their bottles to Newman, but failing that, if you have a lot of bottles and no means to deliver, contact her at jnewman430@gmail.com, and she will arrange to come and pick up your contribution.

Living on an earthquake default like we do here in the Juan de Fuca area has us prepared — at least mentally if not actually — for an emergency. And should it happen here, it would be nice if others would reach out to help us. So consider this an advance deposit in the Karma bank. And if you don’t believe in Karma, just view it as a random act of kindness.

“My goal is to provide some relief to local people in the town of High River that have nothing. My goal is to show people we care and they have support. High River was a beautiful quaint little town. I hope that someday soon it can regain that same reputation and be a stronger community.”

When you bring your bottles to Newman’s on Saturday, you will be contributing to the neighbourly act, helping another community in a time of need.

 

news@sookenews mirror.com