K97 radio DJs Terry Evans and Pete Potipcoe made a special delivery to a Lacombe Park house on Monday evening, bringing some brand new wheels to young Caleb Cenek and bringing to a close the strange case of the trike that went missing.
The 12-year-old boy has autism and mobility challenges, so when his trike was stolen on July 10 from in front of his house, it took something special out of his life. It also created a groundswell of public support, marked by many who wanted to help replace the trike for him. Offers came in from all over the province, and the radio hosts in Edmonton were the first to make contact with the family and make things right again. With fundraising already in place from a previous promotion, Evans tracked down an adult trike that will take Caleb through his teen years. He made the purchase just before the stolen trike was mysteriously returned to the Cenek household in the middle of the night a week later.
Caleb's old trike will be paid forward and donated to someone else who could really use it, Evans reported.
Rally over burgers to help Romez
There was a huge crowd at Jack's Burger Shack on Sunday, with many people hungry for both hamburgers and for supporting a great guy who is in the fight of his life. The Rally for Romez raised approximately $19,000 to help 28-year-old Romez Tahririha as he battles T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, which requires stem-cell treatment.
"I can’t express the amount of gratitude that we all had today! It was an amazing day and we accomplished more than we could have ever expected," wrote organizer Jesse Wagner on the Facebook page for the event. "That will help them more than anyone will ever know!"
A crowdfunding campaign (found at www.gf.me/u/jbvhfb) has amassed another $5,000 toward the goal of $40,000 to help Tahririha and his girlfriend Jennifer van Brabant to pay for his treatments and to support themselves while they are out of work.
They encourage people to register with the OneMatch program by getting their cheeks swabbed. You must be between the ages of 17 and 35. Right now, there is a greater need for males and ethnically diverse individuals. There is a Self Swab Clinic to register people for the OneMatch program that will be held between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23 at Canadian Blood Services, 8219 114 St. in Edmonton.
Those people who are unable to make it to the clinic site can contact the organization through its website at www.OneMatch.ca and have a free kit mailed to their homes.
Bring out your tools
The St. Albert Tool Library has established its home base but it is still on the hunt for more donated second-hand tools to round out its inventory before opening up for business.That’s why organizer Bridget Reschke is retooling the library’s official launch date.
“We have decided now that we are probably going to do a soft launch through the winter. We want to do a grand opening in the spring because more people are going to utilize it then anyways. We have to work out the kinks of everything, too. We need some time,” she said.
To that end, you can get a sneak peek tomorrow evening when she opens the doors for anyone who wants to donate their tools. The inventory is nearing the first milestone of 100 items but more are definitely needed for its members to have enough of a selection.
The library collects used but functional garden tools, renovation tools and other unique tools for lending out. Any power tool is definitely at the top of Reschke’s wish list. She has already received requests for a shop vac and a car polisher, plus there’s a need for extension cords for people who need to do work up ladders.
Speaking of which, “we need some fold-up ladders because we don’t have a lot of room for long ladders, so folding ones would be awesome,” she said, adding that hobby tools such as those for woodworking or leather working would be great to add to the collection. “There’s all kinds of hobby machines out there.”
It doesn’t accept gas-powered tools, though she is on the lookout for a generator to be donated so that the library can have heat and power during the winter.
There is also an ongoing effort to collect party supplies (including chocolate fountains, coffee urns and folding tables) and theme-party decorations after people have held their parties. It’s all about recycling, she said.
“Once you have a theme party, you never have it again, right? It’s good to get it out of your house after it’s done. They’re things we can all share.”
The tool drive collection event runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 26 at Grace Family Church, 60 Liberton Dr. Visit www.satls.org for more information or to find a full listing of the many resources that are still needed for the tool library itself. The library recently hosted a successful Fix-It Café at the Art Gallery of St. Albert during ArtWalk. Future cafés are lined up for September and November.
