REGINA BEACH - Over the past few years, the new owners of Papa Geordie Gas & Grocery, Jake Kim and his wife, Eileen, have kept up a yearly tradition from the previous owners of the store.
Each year around Christmas time, the store will raise money that goes towards the Regina Beach United Church and St. Jerome Catholic Church to provide people with gifts and Christmas cheer.
At first, Kim had no idea about the partnership until one of the employees who worked under the previous owners mentioned it to him. When he heard about the fundraiser, he liked the idea and decided to continue the tradition.
Kim spoke about why he decided to continue the partnership. "We want to help all the people who live alone, and we don't want them to be alone [around the holidays]. So we [do a] fundraise[r]."
When talking about people being alone, Kim mentioned there could be cases where someone might have lost their spouse due to illness or they don’t have any family to spend the holidays with. He also mentioned the families going through tough times over the holidays.
So, Kim and his wife, Eileen, wanted to ensure people within Regina Beach get the support they need. Each year, Papa Geordie Gas & Grocery will start asking for donations from the middle of Nov. to Dec.
While the store does not promote the fundraiser, they do ask people if they are willing to make a small donation.
Kim mentioned he doesn’t want to put pressure on anybody when asking for a donation.
Despite Regina Beach, Buena Vista and Kinookimaw altogether only having a population of around 2,00 people, Papa Geordie Gas & Grocery was able to raise $4,000 in donations this year.
Over half of the donations, about $2590, came from people willing to give a small portion of their cash to the store over the span of a month.
Another approximately $1190 came from TGP, which is the wholesaler of Papa Geordie Gas & Grocery. TGP decided to match the amount of donations the store received.
As for the rest of the money, the management of the store pitched in over $200 themselves.
When asked what it means to raise $4,000 within a small community, Kim said, "It's really [special], [as] people really want to help each other. We felt really warm-hearted minds from the town people."
Kim noted people were not donating for recognition or to show off. Instead, it was all about finding a way to help out the community.
Seeing this amount raised makes Kim appreciate being a part of the surrounding communities of Regina Beach, Kinookimaw and Buena Vista.
While $4,000 is a lot of money, Kim mentioned last year, the store was able to raise $5,000. In his mind, the dropoff was due to a lack of promotion for the fundraiser. Kim believes if they had done the same promotion, they could have reached last year’s mark.
After they collect the fundraising money, the donations are split between the Regina Beach United Church and St. Jerome Catholic Church.
Both of the churches worked together to provide families in need and the elderly with gifts and Christmas carolling. Kim mentioned how Eileen and his kids went door-to-door around the community to spread the Christmas cheer.
Because the two churches are able to support people during the holidays from the donations of Papa Geordie Gas & Grocery, Kim noted how grateful they are to him and his employees for all they do.
As for future fundraisers, Kim does not want to set goals for each year, as that can put pressure on the store and the community. He would rather play things by ear and see what happens in 2025.
Money aside, Kim is grateful for the support of the community and all they do to help out others.
