Warmer weather and an end to pandemic restrictions were expected to improve turnout for the second annual Langley City paid-on-call firefighters tree chipping fundraiser for charity.
It didn’t happen.
Last year, despite the cold and snow on the ground, along with social distancing requirements, the two-day event raised $3,000 at the former site of Gabby’s nightclub, now a vacant lot at 203rd Street and Fraser Highway.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Langley firefighters raise $3,000 for charity and community initiatives
This year, an initial, rough estimate the amount donated on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7-8, was projecting somewhere between $2,500 and $2,800.
Firefighter Mark Scelsa, one of the organizers, was puzzled.
“You would think it would be better,” Scelsa told the Langley Advance Times.
“The weather wasn’t that great,” he acknowledged, with grey skies and steady drizzle, but still better than the winter conditions of the previous year.
Scelsa said the location might be shifted, and firefighters might start promoting the event a little earlier.
Money raised goes to the paid-on-call charity fund which supports Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the “Hope for Children” thrift store on 56th Ave which sponsors children in need, scholarships for both Langley School District and Credo Christian school, Langley Food Bank, Langley Christmas Hamper, the Movember initiative, Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society and Mamas for Mamas, a national charitable organization that supports mothers and caregivers in crisis.
The Langley City firefighters charity has been operating about 30 years, Scelsa estimated.
More photos from the event can be viewed at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.
RELATED: Langley Township firefighters donate $12,000 to 12 charities in 12 days
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.