As shoppers braved the cold and slush on Saturday, they were greeted by Kinsmen at four St. Albert grocery stores. But this time, the service club’s A-teams weren’t asking for donations. Instead, they gave out 480 no-strings-attached gift cards in $25 denominations.
The occasion was Kin Canada’s National Day of Kindness, a day designated to make people feel special in some way. In its fifth participating year, the Kinsmen Club of St. Albert and Kinette Club of St. Albert donated a total of $34,700 in gift cards to unsuspecting families.
Kinsmen Glen Steiner was manning operations at Pearson’s Independent Grocer on St. Albert Trail along with Dave Bergsma and Kinette president Kyla Mandrusiak. The other three grocery outlets where volunteers passed out gift cards were Safeway, FreshCo, and Save-On Foods.
“I like to see smiles on people’s faces, and this is a no-obligation gift,” said Steiner, a licensed insolvency trustee who has seen numerous families struggle and face bankruptcy during COVID.
“We get all kinds of requests from families going through difficult times. People who, through no fault of their own, become ill and can’t balance the budget between paying medical expenses, putting food on the table, and paying a mortgage.”
One of the first to receive a gift card was Kim Basma, a recently arrived city resident. Basma walked into Independent Grocers for a quick milk pickup and was slightly taken aback by the giving gesture.
“It was so sweet. I do this all the time — give gifts and buy coffee for people. I don’t like to see people suffer,” Basma said.
Shrey Batel, manager at Oodle Noodle, dropped by to purchase a few ingredients for the Asian restaurant. Initially, he was wearing earphones and didn’t hear why he received the gift card.
“Then I read the card and it made my day. Somebody gave me this card and I’m going to pass it on to another person, to someone who needs it the most, maybe a food bank,” Batel added.
Spruce Grove resident Kate Richmond was visiting her St. Albert-based mother. Upon a recommendation from her sister, she popped by the grocers. When given a card, her instinctive reaction was, “What?”
Once the information sank in, Richmond’s secondary thoughts were, “Free money. You don’t expect it. It’s so cool. We just came to look around. My sister mentioned it. She’s a deal seeker and we are, too. We came to look at the coupon books.”
Lorianne Pearce, a regular shopper at Independent Grocers, dropped by to pick up a cake for her daughter Lydia’s 10th birthday party. Before exiting, she stopped by to thank Kinsmen a second time.
“I’m going to pay it forward. I’m going to talk to my kids tonight and see what they say. They go to B.K. (Bertha Kennedy Catholic School). They have a snack program, and I might donate it to the snack program,” said Pearce.
Regular shopper Michelle Summers's eyes popped when she was gifted with a card.
“It’s totally unexpected. It’s a really nice thought. It makes me want to pay it forward to someone.”
Summers’s son works at Independent Grocers and in a tongue-in-cheek moment, she added, “Maybe I’ll just grab a bigger cart.”
The Kinsmen donated $12,000 in gift cards and an additional $4,000 to the St. Albert Food Bank. As part of the campaign, Kinsmen also encouraged shoppers to purchase pre-packaged bags for the food bank later delivered by the store.
While Kinsmen were a visible presence in the community, the Kinettes took a more private approach. They donated $100 gift cards to 187 families who received Christmas hampers in December.
Tracy Nadiger, service and public relations director, explained that in addition to food, gifts, and toys, people also donated $40,000 for the Kinette’s Christmas hamper. Only a portion of the money was used. Since individuals donated money for people in need, the Kinettes earmarked the remainder for the same families on National Day of Kindness.
“The response was incredible. People were crying and praying for us. It was emotional. I wish we could do more,” said Mandrusiak. “One woman said, ‘Oh, my God, my family can now buy meat.'”
