On New Year’s Eve at Save-On-Food’s pharmacy a visitor to Fernie attempted to pay for cold medicine but found her wallet was stolen. A fellow customer, Colleen Ashton, paid for the medication.
“Save-On is really thankful to have customers like Colleen. It is not us that needs the recognition its Colleen,” said Doug Pereverzoff, a Save-On pharmacist.
Shortly after the kind gesture, the customer’s money was found in the store by an employee and the customer was called. The customer came back for the money but left the amount that Ashton paid with instructions for the money to be returned. Ashton declined the reimbursement, instead she asked for it to go toward someone who needed medication coverage.
“This young woman wasn’t feeling well and needed some cold medication so I paid for it with my groceries. Not expecting to ever hear of anything or anyone to know my name,” said Ashton to The Free Press. “Doug phoned me to tell me about it and I asked him to take that amount and put it toward a prescription or whatever medication that someone with a lesser income may need.”
Ashton believes these little acts can make a big difference in the lives of others.
“I just think that if everyone did a little bit, a little kindness goes a long way in someone’s life,” said Ashton. “I was fine with paying for the medication, I thought there may be a mommy out there with a child or an elderly person who hasn’t got the finances.”
Ashton is a proud Fernie resident whose family has lived in the community for over a century.
“My family has lived here for over 100 years. I’ve lived here for 30. The house that my great grandfather built that my grandmother and mother were born in still stands today and is a home for another young family,” said Ashton