Royal LePage realtors and staff are overwhelmed with the generosity of the public with their fundraiser this Christmas season. The huge piles of donations of food, toys, clothing and more in the Royal LePage office make it hard to walk around.
This is their eleventh year and every year they are amazed at the amount of co-operation they get from the general public. Some of this is from the Realtors but the majority comes from people just coming in with a few cans of soup, or a toy for children, says Ron Kelly managing broker of the Interlakes office. They’ve raised an estimated $10,000 worth of donations says Maria Walker, co-owner. According to Kelly, they’re probably up one and a half times what they normally receive, possibly due to the empathy of those affected by the fires this year.
“It’s astounding, the door just keeps opening and in they come with more donations. We’re used to it in years past, but this year it’s been extra special.”
They start each year with money donated by the realtors in the office, which they use to buy goods at Safeway, Save-On-Foods and the Red Apple Store. Red Apple also collects donations in conjunction with us says Walker and had an amazingly generous response this year.
The donations go to various charities including the Family Enrichment Centre, the Women’s Centre and Loaves and Fishes. If there is any leftover, they seek out others in need.
Kelly says he’s not entirely sure how much it impacts the charities but thinks it makes a big difference.
“I know they’re just tickled pink to get it all. It really helps out a lot of people in need.”
Both say they end up seeing a lot of the same faces every year making donations, however, Walker is quick to add that there are also lots of new people who walk in, see the pile of toys and other donations and decided to donate for the first time.