Oceanside Entertainment owner Karyne Bailey and her daughter Rebeca recently greeted qathet region’s newest family at Quality Foods, where Rebeca works.
The family of six escaped the war in Ukraine; the father arrived in town with two daughters and one son. The children’s mother and other twin son will join them soon.
Government systems have a hard time processing twins, so one son’s application was red flagged due to having the same last name and birthdate, according to Bailey. They are still in Romania but will be here as soon as the paperwork is sorted out.
“Oceanside Entertainment wants to give a huge shout out to our wonderful customers,” said Bailey. “We asked people to donate their coin change over a period of one month.”
In that time $190 was raised, then on the final day, a customer came in with another $40 to add to the fund. A total of $230 was given to the family to help them stock up their kitchen to start their new life in Canada.
At Quality Foods, the kindness did not stop, added Bailey.
“A customer saw us taking the picture of the donation and she came over quickly with a gift card for the family!” she said. “Powell River is so generous.”
Bailey, who moved to the area four years ago, welcomed the family to the Sunshine Coast and said she hopes they will fall in love with the area as much as she and her daughters have.
