Eight years ago Rick Gration fought a hard battle against brain cancer and won. But now that cancer has returned, and chemotherapy is not working.
Gration is a favourite at the local Walmart, where he still works two days a week as a greeter. In support of Gration and his family, one of Powell River’s largest grocery stores is helping to organize and support a garage sale fundraiser to help the family build a ramp.
“He wants to live his life all the way until he can’t anymore,” said his son Stephen Gration. “There’s nothing stopping him yet.”
But as the cancer progresses, the lack of a ramp at the family’s house is slowing him down, his son explained. Making the five steps to his wheelchair increasingly difficult to manage.
“Safeway is just a really big family,” said Stephen, currently in Canada Safeway’s management trainee program. “They heard that my dad is getting sicker because the chemo that he was using to keep the cancer away is not working anymore.”
“My staff’s family is like our family too,” said Matt Hexler, Safeway assistant manager.”It’s really nice to see how the community has come together.”
Hexler also had a special thank you for Joanne Lawson, a florist at Safeway, who has been using her days off to collect donations with Katie Cameron who is now retired.
Businesses and individuals have come forward to help with the event, said Hexler, offering raffle prizes which include massages and a two-person fishing charter.
Raffle tickets are on sale at the store for $2 each or three for $5.
All the money that is not used for Rick’s ramp will be donated to Powell River Brain Injury Society, Hexler added.
There will also be a by-donation barbecue with hamburgers and hot dogs.
The garage sale fundraiser will be held between 10 am and 3 pm on Saturday, August 22 in the Safeway parking lot at 7040 Barnet Street.
To find out more or to donate, readers can call Hexler at 604.485.1233.
