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Saskatchewan’s spirit shines

Saskatchewan residents are once again showing Canada, and the world, that this province has the kindest, friendliest and most generous people found anywhere.

Saskatchewan residents are once again showing Canada, and the world, that this province has the kindest, friendliest and most generous people found anywhere. This weekend there were not just one, but two really tough, tragic incidents, and in both cases, friends, neighbours and strangers stepped up to help, and continue to help.
A Griffin area family, Trevor and Danielle Johnston, had just experienced the joy of bringing a set of triplets into the world to join their family of four children. They were in the care of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Regina, and the family was on hand in Regina to pick up their babies to take home … and their home was destroyed in a fire.
Friends and neighbours rushed to the scene to help, along with the Weyburn Fire Department, and the wheels were very swiftly put in motion to help the family out. A GoFundMe page was set up the same day, and it passed the halfway mark for their goal of $100,000 by Tuesday morning, as news of their tragic fire quickly spread across the country.
In addition to the monetary donations, several dropoff depots were set up around southeast Saskatchewan to take in donations of things like clothing, and baby items. Depots have been set up in Weyburn, Griffin, Halbrite, Estevan, Carlyle and Regina, and the organizers are attempting to coordinate their efforts to ensure the collection of the necessary items that the family is needing at this time.
On the same weekend, a longtime volunteer and farmer at Milestone, Brian Williams, passed away on Friday, and friends and neighbours in the community offered their help to take off some of the crops on the Williams farmland.
On Sunday, some 20 combines converged on a section of land, and the crew took off the crop of durum wheat.
As one of the organizers of this effort, Mayor Jeff Brown (a friend and neighbour to the Williams) said, it wasn’t so much that the family needed the help, but the community wanted to offer their assistance, and they eagerly stepped up to help out.
These are two examples of the spirit of Saskatchewan, and the efforts to help both of these families will continue in the coming weeks and months. These examples of a giving community is showing the world, this is how we look after each other and take care of each other. Hopefully this will inspire other communities to similarly look after the people in their areas who experience hardship or tragedy and need a hand. — Greg Nikkel