Now that the immediate threat is over in Fort McMurray the focus is shifting to rebuilding.
After so much devastation, communities across Canada and here in Ottawa are doing their part to help the thousands who have lost so much.
Sunday morning a group of volunteers met at the Bell Sensplex in Kanata to collect donations for Fort McMurray.
It was organized by the president of the Kanata Little League who said his 12-year-old son Declan pushed him to help.
“He said what can Kanata Baseball League do to help and I hadn’t thought about it and I sent out an e-mail to the members and this is what’s happened,” said Paul O’Kane.
From 9a.m. until 2p.m. community members dropped by with donations of money, clothing, and toiletries and other personal items. By the end of the event they had stocked a tractor trailer.
It was touching for the Cass’ who said their family was a few hours away from Fort McMurray in Athabasca when the fire started to spread.
“It’s so weird, being in Alberta at the time it was 30 degrees and green and everybody was saying we need rain, we need rain and what we didn’t realize is just how bad it was up in Fort McMurray at the time,” said Nicole Cass.
By the end of the day the trailer was packed with hundreds of boxes containing thousands of items. O’Kane said it would take off for Fort McMurray Monday morning.
