When Ross Lundie asked his fellow Facebook group members if they were OK with donating the leftover cash in their fund to a Richmond school breakfast program, he didn’t expect what happened next.
The 500-strong Steveston Mens Support Group (SMSG) heartily agreed to send the $500 – derived from sales of their group’s merchandise - to help the less fortunate kids in their city.
But as the minutes and hours ticked past, one by one, SMSG members started chipping in with their own donations on the Facebook thread.
And within a few days, almost $4,000 was amassed and will be winging its way to local charity Feed U Cate 38 - which has already identified the families of students who desperately need groceries during the pandemic.
“Given the current Covid-19 pandemic, I recognized that those children who relied upon their schools for breakfast may be doing without,” said Lundie, a founding member of the social group, which started in 2013 after he invited five Steveston High School friends out for a beer.
“The SMSG had some funds left over, so I just posted online that we should purchase some grocery store gift cards and give them to the local principals who can disseminate them to those in need.
“The post just took off…This wasn’t intentional, it just sort of happened.”
Lundie said retired Richmond school principal Glenn Kishi connected with the group and steered them towards Feed U Cate 38.
“I’m surprised by my post taking off, but then again I’m not, considering the great community that we live in,” added Lundie.
“Steveston is unique in that it is truly one of the last small towns within a big city. We have a strong sense of pride in our community and we look out for each other.
“I’m so very proud to live in a community where people can come together like this and support others in need.”
SMSG gets together for a beer ever few weeks and has two major events per year, where between 60 and 80 members embark on a bar crawl to support businesses in Steveston Village.
“The goal is to strengthen our community through relationships,” said Lundie, while noting that the group’s name started out as a joke.
“If you know each other, you will take care of each other. That includes both your neighbours and the local merchants.”
