LOWER SACKVILLE, N.S. — A Lower Sackville car dealership is stepping up to help a Windsor family that lost everything during a recent fire.
Daniel Verrilli, owner of East Coast Financing, a car dealership in Lower Sackville, is providing an SUV, a Lincoln MKT, toward the cause.
The Sparks family lost their vehicle in the blaze in the early morning hours of March 28. Another family, living in the next-door unit of the duplex, had to be rescued by firefighters as well.
Verrilli also worked with a neighbouring dealership, which is filling the car with hundreds of dollars worth of items – everything from diapers to toys and clothing.
“We’ve got about $2,000 worth of stuff in the car so far, mostly for the kids,” he said. “My sister’s a vet technician, and they have a dog, too, so we’ve got some dog food and a whole bunch of gift certificates from neighbouring businesses.”
The fundraiser is largely thanks to Tim Flynn, who grew up in the Windsor area and knows the family well. He approached Verrillie about doing something and soon enough, they began raising funds and gathering items to donate.
“We’ve only been working on this for a couple of days, but this has hit close to home for folks,” he said.
Initially Verrilli and his team wanted it to be a surprise, but in the interest of bringing in more donations, they decided to go public to increase awareness before the giveaway on Friday.
They’re still accepting donations before everything is given to the family on April 5.
“We’re rounding (up) as much as we can before then,” he said.
Verrilli said giving back is an important part of what his company is about.
“I have a four-year-old myself, and couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose everything like they have,” he said.
Donations are being accepted at their location at 332 Sackville Dr.
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