Lions Security Inc. President and CEO Leo Ekhaguere hands out a Tim Hortons gift card in a show of love and support to Prince Albert's vulnerable population during the holiday season. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

the gift of giving

Local company hands out gift cards to P.A.’s vulnerable in show of support

Dec 23, 2023 | 1:18 PM

Some of Prince Albert’s vulnerable population received a nice surprise on Saturday morning.

Lions Security Inc. was out at P.A.’s McDonald’s and Tim Hortons locations handing out gift cards from either restaurant to the homeless.

The company’s President and CEO Leo Ekhaguere got teary eyed when talking about the initiative and said it’s a way for them to show their support during the holiday season.

“We’ve come here to show our connection with this section of the community to let them know that they are loved. When you encounter homeless people, you must understand that they are under a great deal of stress. You have to show empathy, you have to show compassion and as much as possible, show them where the essential services are.”

Additionally, Ekhaguere explained that poverty is one of the main causes of crime in the city, something he and his company are trying to change with one person at a time.

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“As security, we encounter homeless people every day and this is one of the ways we show leadership. There’s no other security company doing what we’re doing and we have the best strategy to ensure that people are able to get to the level of stability to live a normal life. The government has done its best to roll out permanent solutions for the homeless people and they can no longer do this, we need to support the government with effort and that’s what we’re trying to do today, to give support to our own people that are going through that level of stress.”

In total, Ekhaguere and one of his employees, Prampal Singh, handed out 20 cards to people around the city.

“We didn’t want to supply them food, we don’t know the kind of food they may like so we preferred to give them gift cards that they can use to buy whatever they like. And it’s not about the giving them the card itself, we want to show that we love them in this festive season. When they feel loved, a lot of positive things can follow. In the New Year, we want them to think about how they can better live a good life and be the best version of themselves.”

paNOW was on hand to capture the first of the cards being handed out where the recipients immediately went inside to grab themselves a warm meal.

Leo Ekhaguere (right) and Prampal Singh were out on Saturday morning handing out gift cards. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com