ESTEVAN — Jared Erickson can't believe how much money his bottle drive campaign raised for friends who were the victims of a recent trailer fire in Estevan.
The effort raised $2,706 for siblings Taylor Cote and Savannah and Jasmine Crouse. He received $1,607 in donations through drop offs at SARCAN. One anonymous donor gave $1,000 and another donated $100, bringing the total to $2,706.80.
"I thought this would be something that would do 300 bucks or 400 bucks kind of thing. I thought it would be cool if it hit 1,000, and we blew right past that, so I'm in disbelief," Erickson said in an interview with SaskToday.
The money was sent to the family on May 23.
"The amount of gratitude they showed, it's too much. All of the hugs and the thank yous, they were over the moon on this, and they were just as surprised as I am on what we pulled off in the course of a week with just bottles and cans."
He received 14,485 containers that weighed 1,286 pounds.
"It feels like I hauled about that much," said Erickson.
He said he knows the family quite well. He sent some money to them right away after the fire so they could purchase some clothes and essential items, but he thought about what more he could do to help the family.
"I just wanted to get creative. I'd seen people doing these kinds of SARCAN fundraisers before, and I thought it would be such a good idea," said Erickson.
The fire struck early on May 14. While Cote and Jasmine Crouse were able to escape the home and avoid serious injury, the trailer was destroyed, three pets died and they lost most of their possessions. Jasmine Crouse was not home at the time.
Erickson said the support reflects the generosity of the community.
"If something like this were to happen to me, it puts your mind at ease to know that the community is there for you. A can is worth five cents, and all of a sudden you've got 14,000 of them, and we're looking at a very big number for money raised."
The campaign will be open for as long as possible. People with lots of empties have been reaching out to him since the fundraiser unofficially wrapped up. If anyone wants to drop off containers, he will accept them. They can text him at 306-471-8795 and he'll come and pick up the empties, or they can go to SARCAN and use the drop code Crouse/Cote house.
