(File photo/northeastNOW staff)

By Ben Tompkins

Good Deeds

Prairie North Co-op paying it forward to individuals who give back

Dec 28, 2022 | 5:24 PM

Three local individuals have received multiple $50 gift cards, courtesy of Prairie North Co-op.

Paul Wayne Zuck, Pat Rumberger, and Bonnie Cross were all awarded one gift card each, as well as an additional card to give to a person or charity of their choice.

They were awarded after sharing their stories on the Co-op’s Facebook page or by sending them through their prize line.

Terri Larsen, marketing manager of the Prairie North Co-op, told northeastNOW, the stories exemplified what their business tries to promote.

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“They receive (the cards) for going above and beyond,” she said. “The uniting thread in all of those is that it’s about people, it’s people giving back to people, and that really is the Co-op way, that’s what cooperatives are about.”

These three people in particular won the gift cards by random draw.

Larsen explained there were lots of others who displayed similar values, something she quoted as an “overwhelming and humbling thing,” for the northeast area.

“I have to tell you that as I read some of those stories, I was in tears because it’s real people that are sharing,” she added. “It’s really that pay-it-forward mentality.”

Stories included those who paid for another person’s purchase after they had forgotten their wallet. That led to volunteering time and labour for a local food bank, which has since been emptied and filled.

Others included making a turkey supper for a displaced family from James Smith Cree Nation and donating an extra Christmas tree to a family who didn’t have one while donating ornaments to the children so they had something to decorate during the holidays.

Larsen concluded along the lines of representing the holidays in a Canadian fashion by getting in the spirit of the giving season.

“It wasn’t a one-and-done thing, there are multiple instances throughout the course of the year, and it’s just so fulfilling to be able to read those entries and those responses… I’m so proud to work at Co-op and serve these customers, as it fits with my personal philosophy of giving back and doing good.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8