A shipment of clothing items and toiletries will be delivered to first responders in Fort McMurray as the support from Drumheller continues to astound.
What started off as a drive to fill a single SUV with fresh socks, underwear, and tshirts for the firemen fighting the devastating wildfires at Fort Mac hasgrown into a transport trailer full of the goods which will be delivered by Pedersen Transport to the men and women on the frontlines.
Ariana Mancini, born and raised here and the wife of a Fort McMurray firefighter, was displaced from her home on Tuesday night and made it the 16 hour drive south to Drumheller alongside thousands of other gridlocked evacuees.
Mancini heard a story on the CBC of a first responder like her husband who, after being evacuated, raced home to raid the sock drawer. The reality of the over one thousand first responders who are currently battling the wildfires which razed most of Fort McMurray this week hit home.
"I'm in touch with my husband and others who are there too and learned of the simple living conditions. The first responders need basic things like fresh underwear, fresh socks and tshirts, because there's no laundry services there, because the hot water has been shut off."
She then knew how she could help.
While in Drumheller she got in touch with Jamie Worman at Drumheller Chrysler, and the company quickly agreed to act as a drop off point for basic clothing items and toiletries on Friday and night and on Saturday from 9 to 4. Mancini also got Mark's onboard, which agreed to sell those basic clothing items at 40 per cent off.
And by 6 pm Friday night there was already a truck full of items at Drumheller Chrysler.
The response from Drumheller was so great that they needed to find a way to transport more of the goods up north. Mancini planned to drive the clothing herself to the end of Highway 63, 244 kilometres south of Fort Mac where Highway 63 meets Highway 55. The road is blocked at that point but the RCMP stationed there agreed to take the items and deliver them the rest of the way to the first responders on the front line, but Mancini was unsure whether the RCMP would be able to take all of the goods that were collected.
But Pedersen Transport was gracious enough to offer their services, and will be making the drive on Sunday. Organizers will continue to collect donations until Sunday.
"All the donations by far exceeded what we thought. The heart of Drumheller has always been in the right place and I knew that the whole time I lived here," said Mancini.
Pedersen Transport also agreed to stop in Red Deer to pick up more - a shipment of toiletries donated by Loren Goris, who has been working actively there to collect for Fort Mac evacuees.
Once at Highway 63, RCMP officers will ensure that the cargo gets the rest of the way to MacDonald Island Park, where they are housing the firefighters in Fort McMurray.
Donations can be dropped off at Drumheller Chrysler.
