Mily and Ralph Buisine ran 9Round gym until the pandemic forced its closure.
Image Credit: Gofundme
June 12, 2020 - 7:30 AM
A group of small businesses in Vernon are chipping in to help a local entrepreneur whose business didn't make it through the COVID-19 pandemic and are turning a recently launched Gofundme campaign into a raffle.
For every $5 donated to the Gofundme campaign, a raffle ticket will be issued and put into a draw with a chance to win a selection of goodies from almost a dozen local Vernon businesses.
The initiative was launched by furniture business Blessed Distressed as a way for local businesses to support local businesses.
The Gofundme was set up for Ralph Buisine who had owned the 9Round gym in Vernon until the pandemic forced its closure. Buisine is currently working as a manager in Walmart and made headlines when he found a purse containing $7,000 in the store and gave to back to Enderby small business owner River Johnson.
Johnson described him as an "unsung hero" after the event.
"We need more folks like him in this world," Blessed Distressed says about Buisine on its official Facebook page. "So I got together with some amazing locals to do a giveaway."
Businesses involved in the giveaway include eateries the Midtown, The Fig Bistro, and the Arcadian Kitchen giving away gift cards as well as Emma's Sacred ART commissioning a custom painting worth $575. Lip Impressions and Define Permanent Makeup Artistry also donated prizes, as did Dean's Taylor Shop and pet photographer Lisa Mazurek.
So far, more than $2,000 has been raised, with a goal of raising $5,000.
A full list of the prizes can be found here.
To donate $5 and enter into the draw go to the Gofundme here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2020