A group of Windsor residents is raising both cash and collecting donations to help Albertans displaced by a massive wildfire in the Fort McMurray area.
Stephanie Bell, and a group including Rauth Roofing and CN Rail, rented a rail container, and she hopes to fill it with the necessities that many residents left behind when they fled with just the clothing on their backs.
"They're asking for diapers, formula, wipes, pet food, clothing in larger sizes, non-perishable foods," she says. "These people left everything."
On May 14, Bell is holding a donation drive at Rauth Roofing on McHugh St. in Windsor near the Tim Horton's on Lauzon Rd.
Bell says she was motivated to act, because, like many Windsorites, she has friends and family in the Fort McMurray area. While the rail container is destined for Edmonton, she hopes the donations will reach other evacuation centres in Alberta as well.
"They're all over," says Bell. "Everyone is devastated. I don't think there's one emotion or feeling. It's not over. So now some of the evacuation centres are being evacuated.
"We've shared a lot of emotions. It's heartbreaking for everyone. We're just people trying to do a good thing."
She has also started a GoFundMe account and hopes to raise $5,000. Within 24 hours, the fund had already collected $1,500.
