BARRIE -- Lauren McEachren knows firsthand what it’s like to be evacuated from a city in danger.
In 2016, she and her family were a few of the 88,000 people forced to leave their homes behind when the Horse River Wildfire ripped through Fort McMurray.
Luckily for her family, the Canadian Red Cross stepped up to help.
“We received emergency funds from Red Cross when we were evacuated in Fort McMurray,” says McEachren, “for us that was a mortgage payment, which was huge when you don’t know if you have a job anymore.”
Three years later, she’s paying it forward.
On Saturday evening, numerous donated items are being auctioned off at a fundraiser at the Eclectic Café in Orillia. Money has also been collected and will be contributed to the Red Cross Australia Fire Appeal.
“Often we find that we can’t make an impact as a single person," says Eclectic Café owner Melanie Robinson, “so when we come together as a community and make a joint effort, the impact is larger, and it reaches a global scale.”
With files from CTV's Roger Klein.
