Toronto, Ontario -- Staff members at an Drayton Valley, Alberta collision repair facility stepped up in order to help a local organization deliver enough backpacks filled with school supplies to needy families.
For the past few years, Sam Ichtay, proprietor of Drayton Valley's most famous watering hole, the Whitebull Cafe, has collected backpacks and school supplies donated from local business owners.
Last week, on the final day of the collection drive, Ichtay realized he was on track to miss his target by about 43 backpacks. To ensure no deserving child was left behind, he reached out to a local business that had regularly supported his work in past years -- but not this year.
The news that Fix Auto Drayton Valley had almost overlooked its annual contribution came as a surprise to managers Tina and Ivan Sic.
"It's expensive enough for parents to get groceries these days -- and school supplies can set you back another $50, $60 or $70 bucks," says Tina Sic. "We knew we had to do something."
Before the drive ended, Ivan, Tina and another seven staff members each contributed to the cause, with the group going out to purchase 14 of the bags and enough supplies to fill them up -- enough to ensure Ichtay was able to achieve his target.
"By the end of the day, he'd actually managed to exceed his target and collect 571 backpacks," adds Tina. "I guess it shows that even though Drayton Valley's a small town, it's a great place to fund-raise for people in need."
