Residents in the southeast Calgary neighbourhood of Auburn Bay hosted a bottle drive on Sunday to help the families affected by a house fire last week.
On Jan. 11, the Calgary Fire Department was called to a house fire at around 4 p.m. in the 800 block of Auburn Bay Boulevard Southeast. The CFD soon expanded it to a three-alarm response, for extra resources.
In a news release issued that night, the CFD said two adults and a child were at home when the fire began but all made it out safely. In addition to the home being destroyed and another home being damaged, two vehicles were damaged.
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Shannon Sperle, coordinator of the bottle drive, said the event aims to raise some money to help the three families impacted by the house fire.
“We have a pretty tight-knit community here. So we all kind of rally together with our community pages and help out when needed,” Sperle said. “We step up for these families. That is just what makes Auburn Bay a unique community.”
The bottle drive is the first of many events being held to help the families. Sperle and other community organizers are hosting a fundraiser at the Canadian Brewhouse located at 7 Mahogany Plaza S.E. on Feb. 2 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. There will be a silent auction and all proceeds will go to the families.
Sperle said tickets cost $15 and more than 40 auction items were donated by local businesses. She hopes the bottle drive and the fundraiser will raise $10,000 which will be split between the three families.
“We always kind of try to rally together, and it warms our hearts to be able to help out the families in need … Right now they’re renting. It does take a while. Insurance does kick up eventually, but they need some help and some love and support,” Sperle said.
People interested in purchasing tickets to the fundraiser can visit the event page on Facebook.
— with files from Adam Toy, Global News.