EDMONTON – An Edmonton mother and father are paying forward the kindness they received after losing their toddler in a collision caused by an alleged impaired driver.
On May 19,2013, Geo Mounsef was dining with his family on a restaurant patio when an SUV crashed into them, pinning the child between the vehicle and the wall. The toddler didn’t survive.
In the 15 months since, the community has held numerous events and raised several thousands of dollars to support the family. To repay the strangers, Geo’s father George Mounsef and mother Sage Morin decided to share the generosity with children coping with a similar tragedy.
“We were looking for a family with children that had been impacted. You know, possibly lost a parent or something like that,” Mounsef said. “We just thought that it must be so difficult for children to go through something like that. We know how hard it was for us losing our son.”
The Mounsefs contacted MADD Canada and were connected with the Howe family in Red Deer.
Brad and Krista Howe were killed in a collision with a drunk driver in February 2010. They left behind five children between the ages of 14 and four. Their aunt, Karla Green, moved to Red Deer from B.C. to raise them.
Thanks to a $6,000 donation from Geo’s parents, the family of six left for Disneyland Monday morning. They will spend four days on vacation in Anaheim.
“Nothing makes us happier than seeing other children smile,” Mounsef said. “We wanted to do something positive.”
Global News spent part of Sunday afternoon with the children as they packed suitcases for the trip.
“I’m really excited to get the opportunity and I think the gift was really nice,” said 11-year-old Molly.
“It’s an incredible act of random kindness,” said her 15-year-old brother, Cory. “I think it’s possibly like the best one that anyone could do.”
Their aunt says the families share a special bond.
“Our losses were quite different,” Green said. “They lost a child and we lost parents and I lost a sister. But the tragedy of it, or the tragic nature of that loss I think maybe brings people together. So we felt a really close connection with their family very quickly.”
Green says the family will meet with Geo’s parents on Saturday to thank them and share stories about their trip.
“It felt really good to feel that people are still remembering what happened to our family.”
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