Despite the pouring rain on Saturday, Jan. 7, young volunteers at D.W. Poppy Secondary School in Langley hosted dozens of community members at their annual tree chipping fundraiser. The tree chipping services were offered for a minimum $20 donation, and the event was organized by the D.W. Poppy Secondary’s dry grad committee, which is raising money for the school’s upcoming dry grad party – scheduled to take place at George Preston in about 10 months from now.
The group is on a mission to raise about $20,000 in total for the big day.
Pamala Combs, chair of the dry grad committee and her team also collected cans and bottles from the public in an effort to reach their fundraising goal.
Combs is hopeful that they will be able to meet their target, thanks to support from the community members like Trevor Smith, who volunteered his time and resources at the Saturday tree chipping event.
Smith, owner of Arbor Pro Tree Services, brought his tree chipping truck to the school and offered his services for free.
“It was a great time contributing to the cause,” said Smith, whose 10-year-old son Lukas is a Grade 8 student at D.W. Poppy.
“All the kids are working pretty hard, and whatever we can do to help them with their financial goals, we will,” he added.
The event ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and, by noon, the group had collected approximately 23 trees. Despite the wet weather, Combs and the team remained hopeful and grateful for the support of the Langley community.
So far, the group has raised $6,700 from various events, and Combs estimates the tree chip alone would bring additional $2,000.
“We have a long way to go,” she commented.
This year marks Combs’ last as committee chair, as her children are graduating this year.
“There has been a huge support from the committee, and we are grateful for that,” she concluded.
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