A gofundme page has been set up to assist longtime Weyburn volunteer Brent Allin, after he had his van totaled in early July in a collision with a moose.
A friend, Johnny Knox, set the page up for him when it turned out that the funds for a replacement van for Allin were insufficient for what he needs. Knox has also arranged with the Weyburn Credit Union to enable people to come in to give donations as some don’t have access to the Internet to give on the gofundme page.
Allin has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair to get around, in addition to having a van that is outfitted with the equipment he needs to drive it, including a lift.
In an interview, Allin said he and a friend had gone to a Riders game in Regina in early July, and on the way home, encountered a juvenile moose on the highway about 10 km south of Regina. No one was hurt in the collision, which killed the young moose, but his van was totaled.
This van was a used one he was able to buy on Kijiji in 2015, but this time when he checked for a possible replacement van, the selection was far lower than before, and the van he is thinking of buying costs much more than SGI is providing for.
Part of the issue for Allin is that the Kinsmen Foundation helped pay for his old van, and part of the conditions are that he has to return a portion of the money they gave him since he will be receiving a payout from SGI to cover the van’s loss.
Allin said he is hoping that he might be able to also get some new assistance from the Kinsmen for the replacement van.
The gofundme page was set up recently to help him get a suitable replacement vehicle. As of Tuesday morning, the fund had $6,335, with a goal to raise around $25,000.
As Knox stated on the gofundme page, “Brent is a tireless volunteer in Weyburn as we all know, and this would be a chance to give him the accessibility he needs to continue.”
The page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/upgraded-accessibility-van-after-accident.
