A volunteer helps a man needing scarves and mitts on Dec. 16 in front of Access Place. (Derek Craddock/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Craddock

GATORS GIVES BACK

Warming hearts on a cold day in PA

Dec 17, 2022 | 8:00 AM

It was a show of Christmas spirit on Friday, one that touched the hearts of the city’s less fortunate.

Gator’s Grub, a food bank that operates in Candle Lake during the summer set up shop in front of Access Place in Prince Albert, offering free food and clothing items like scarves, hats, and mitts to those who needed some extra warmth.

Owner of Gator’s Grub Velda Court said it all started when one of her co-workers had an idea of giving back to the community.

“We just started the ball rolling with donations from the local grocery store…they hopped on board right away. We started asking for warm clothes and blankets and stuff and it just snowballed,” she said.

(Derek Craddock/paNOW Staff)

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A post was eventually put on Facebook, asking for clothing donations which got a tremendous response. From there, Court said they set up donation locations in several communities and were blown away by the contributions.

“All the others were dropped off at locations that we had in Birch Hills, Wakaw, Saskatoon, Martensville, and Candle Lake.”

The team originally set up on Central Avenue near the Historical Museum late Friday morning. However, they didn’t see the traffic they were hoping for and realized they were too far from those who needed the donated items.

They later moved to the parking lot in front of Access Place on 15 street and 1 Ave East.

“The manager of the building was great to let us park here,” said Court who added that the response was tremendous with many taking advantage of the free food and clothing items on what was a chilly day in Prince Albert.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock