The Ron Dunkley Memorial Society wants to help people declutter some of the paper they have that’s no longer needed but is still lying around the home.
The society will host a shredding event Saturday, April 30 that will not only help people safely get rid of the documents but also raise money to help local high school students.
As with so many charities and community groups, COVID-19 prevented the society from holding traditional fundraising events. That meant the society wasn’t able to fully fund the scholarships for last year.
“We didn’t have it (shredding) in 2021, but, we did have a tree chipping event in January 2022 after Christmas, and raised money for one of our scholarships. This event on Saturday will hopefully raise enough for our second scholarship,” said Sandy Dunkley, the mother of Ron and the founder of the society.
The goal is to raise enough money to be able to provide $1,000 scholarships to Langley Secondary and Brookswood Secondary.
The public can take such things as cheques, confidential documents, bank statements, old bills, old tax returns, and even CDs for shredding and disposal.
People can drive up and the items will be unloaded from the backs of their vehicles or people can park and watch the items being shredded.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Town & Field Church, 20719 48th Ave. Shredding is by donation.
Dunkley, a Langley City firefighter, died 60 days after he was hit by a train in Seattle in 2010.
Ron was in the U.S. city in November, 2010 to attend a Seahawks game when, on his way back to his hotel, he stepped between the cars of a stationary train and into the path of a moving locomotive.
He was taken to hospital with catastrophic injuries and died 60 days later, on Jan. 4, 2011.
During the two months he spent in hospital, his medical bills had climbed to US $2.7 million.
Blue Cross would only cover the first $1 million. But after struggling to find the funds, the family was informed that an anonymous benefactor paid the entire bill.
That inspired creation of the society.
The Ron Dunkley Memorial Society, a registered charitable foundation, was formed to raise funds for a number of causes — the B.C. Professional Firefighters Burn Fund, Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, Canadian Blood Services and University of Washington Medicine among them.
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