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Red Apple gives

The Fernie Red Apple store’s annual holiday toy drive collected approximately $3,000 in toys for the Fernie Women’s Resource Centre.

By Ezra Black

The Fernie Red Apple store’s annual holiday toy drive collected approximately $3,000 in toys for the Fernie Women’s Resource Centre.

“It feels wonderful,” said Trudy Pinksen, Red Apple store manager. “It feels good to support the community. When I give back I always think it’s important to give to local charities in the valley.”

Lauren Fox, executive director of the Fernie Women’s Resource Centre, said the toys were distributed to underprivileged Elk Valley families before Christmas.

“The holidays can definitely be stressful because there’s the expectation that there will be gifts,” she said. “If you don’t have the income to be provide that, I think it’s pretty sad for some parents. So it’s huge for our clients. It’s one less thing to worry about around the holidays.”

“The people at the Red Apple are so amazing,” she added. “It’s quite a bit of stuff for them to organize.”

The Bargain! Shop and Red Apple Stores’ annual holiday toy drive collected about $583,000 in toys for children’s charities across Canada.

“Owing the amazing generosity of customers across the country, this year’s campaign was the most successful yet, helping to bring holiday cheer to kids coast to coast,” said the company in a statement.

“There were plenty of toys, filled in bags, boxes, fire trucks and police cruisers that were delivered to families in need to put under the Christmas tree. The success of the Toy Drive brought smiles to so many children across the country,” said Dave Johnson, vice president of operations.

Each store donated directly to a local charity of their choice. The store worked with the charity in their community to collect the toys and deliver them to families in need, just in time for the holidays.

“We are so thankful to our customers for their overwhelming support year after year,” said Clinton Wolff, president and CEO in a statement. “They generously open their hearts and donate to those in need…We are so proud to be a part of our communities that come together to help make Christmas a little brighter for children in all of our towns.”