A healthy response by Houston and area residents last month in dropping off recyclables to the We Care group has brought in another $2,000 in support of B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.
The exact amount, $2,007, puts the We Care's total recycling efforts at more than $33,000, reports Mae Vienneau of Granisle who, with Brian Hewitt, were among those forming the group in 2008.
Since then Hewitt, now 95, and Vienneau, 85, have had the consistent support of Houston and area residents.
That support has also shown itself in direct connections with B.C. Children's Hospital.
"One man came in and he had a pickup with about nine bags of cans," recounted Vienneau.
"He had gone around to all his friends because another friend was in Vancouver with his child in the hospital right now. It makes you feel pretty good when you hear that," she said of the bags the man dropped off.
"We've had quite a few results like that, from people who have had children in the hospital there."
Vienneau and her husband and Hewitt and his wife formed We Care in 2008 in Granisle as a way of supporting B.C. Children's Hospital.
Both couples were fortunate with their children but wanted a way to help families whose own children required the kind of care B.C. Children's could offer.
Hewitt has since moved in Houston and although both of their spouses have now passed away, Vienneau and Hewitt carry on with the help of others.
The June 7 collecting day at the Benson turn out produced enough bottles and cans that the two, with the help of others, spent about four days sorting what had been dropped off.
"There are always little twists and turns but we have had such good luck in Houston," Vienneau said. "Houston has been very good to us."
We Care's efforts have not gone unnoticed as cards and letters from the hospital and its foundation have arrived regularly over the years.
"I've even got one framed," said Vienneau of a handwritten note from the hospital's chief executive officer.
As We Care's efforts have grown over the years, so has its capacity as the group now has a larger trailer in which to carry what it collects.
The lack of a bottle return facility in Houston means Vienneau and Hewitt now make the trip to the depot in Burns Lake.
"They're really good in Burns Lake. The one in Burns Lake has been very good to us," Vienneau said.
Both Hewitt and Vienneau have what she described as typical health issues but that both will carry on for as long as they can.
"It's the golden years. You know, doctors and drug stores," she added.
We Care expects to set up in Houston in early fall before the cold weather sets in.
