When longtime friend Dan Lajoie lost his wheelchair accessible van to a fire this summer, Charlene Berringer decided right away her family needed to do something to help out.
“I went to school with Dan,” she explained of Lajoie, who resides in Cambridge and battles spinal muscular atrophy.
“I like my kids doing stuff for charities – I try to get them to do something every year … and this was a great cause.”
But Anika, 11, and Christian, 7, did not need any convincing on the merits of helping Lajoie, who has two kids of his own.
“We really wanted to help because if it was to ever happen to us, we would want all the help we could get,” said Anika.
Added Christian, “I just wanted to help.”
The family is calling on their community, and residents across Wellington County as well, for donations of used books.
They are planning a book sale on Nov. 3 at the Rockwood Tennis Club, which has donated the space for the sale.
Charlene explained the family decided on a used book sale because of low overhead costs and because 100 per cent of the profit will go towards Lajoie’s new wheelchair accessible van, which is expected to cost upwards of $60,000.
Lajoie said he was “pleasantly surprised” when he heard about the fundraiser to help replace his van.
“I’m very humbled and honoured they’re doing that for us,” Lajoie said of the Berringers.
He noted losing his van was a very traumatic experience that has left him relying on buses and taxis for transportation, which has severely limited his schedule, particularly with colder weather on the way.
On July 23, while on a family camping trip near Hamilton, Lajoie, his wife Maggie and their three-year-old daughter Mia awoke in the night to find their wheelchair accessible van inexplicably engulfed in flames.
With the help of another unknown camper, the family, including Lajoie’s eight-year-old son Jacob who was sleeping in another tent, escaped unharmed, but the 1997 GMC van was completely destroyed, along with it most of the family’s camping gear and personal electronics.
An insurance claim was not nearly enough to cover the cost of a new wheelchair van, so Lajoie himself has started a website – vanfordan.com – and to date about $35,000 of the required $60,000 has been raised.
Berringer says cash donations can be made via the website at any time, and her family will have a cash box available at the Nov. 3 book sale, which will also include a snack and refreshment table and perhaps even other stocking-stuffer-type Christmas gifts for sale.
The family is currently putting posters up in the Rockwood area and Anika and Christian made an announcement at Rockwood Centennial Public School earlier this week to help spread the word.
The family will accept used book donations up until Nov. 2 and they will even pick up local donations, said Charlene.
The Berringers acknowledge $3,000 is a very ambitious goal, but even if they fall short of that amount, they believe the generosity of both donors and buyers will result in a lot of help for the Lajoie family.
“Every bit counts,” said Anika. “Even if we raise $100, that’s $100 more than they had before.”
The 11-year-old has what many would consider a remarkably mature attitude about the fundraising campaign.
“I like doing this kind of stuff,” Anika said. “It makes me feel happy.”
With any luck, that sentiment will spread, resulting in a successful fundraiser.
The Nov. 3 book sale runs from 10am to 2pm at the Rockwood Tennis Club, adjacent to the Rockmosa Community Centre.
Those interested in making a donation – all types of books are welcome – can call 519-856-0363.
