KILWORTH, ONT. -- A family in Kilworth Heights got an overwhelming response to a bottle drive to raise money for the London Health Sciences Foundation's COVID-19 Response Fund.
Word got out, and the Boyko family was left with hundreds of empty bottles on their driveway.
"This is about 20 times more than we expected…they just keep coming…my heart is so full,” says Tracy Boyko.
"We honestly thought we were going to get a couple of trailers of returns. We have done lots of bottle drives for our children’s sporting teams. I find myself standing here a couple times a day feeling overwhelmed," says Troy Boyko.
The family appealed to The Beer Store for some help with transporting, and the organization answered that call.
“They came with a fleet and they were happy to do it, which took a lot of stress of the two of us, that’s for sure,” says Troy.
The Beer Store workers help sort after a successful bottle drive in Kilworth, Ont. on Monday, April 20, 2020. (Jordyn Read / CTV London)
Four staff members and two trucks made the first home visit. They made sure all the bottles were properly organized.
“This has been a community effort,” says Tracy, “and the community will benefit from it."
The Boykos are hoping to lead by example and encourage others to find ways to support the community, which they did.
Wife and husband duo, Sara and Jason Snowden, have been inspired to match the donation.
Jason is the business development manager at MacMaster Chevrolet in London. He says he and his wife have known the Boyko family for quite some time and were happy to get involved.
“They are friends of ours,” says Jason. "When we saw the post we thought it would be a great way for us to help. We have been looking for some ways to do it, business is really tough out there for everybody, so we think this can help.”
The Boyko family is waiting to hear back on the total number of bottles, plus the total amount of money collected from The Beer Store.
