Regina man raising money for local warming shelter one boost at a time

As the deep freeze of 2021 continues to chill car batteries everywhere, a Regina man is using the problem to jump-start donations for a local shelter.

Corie Rempel spent the first few days of this week, with plans to continue through Friday, travelling around the Queen City boosting dead batteries for free.

All he’s asking for in return, if the car owner can manage, is a donation to the YWCA & All Nations Hope Network’s new warm-up station — Awasiw: A Place of Hope.

“We’re doing it just to give back to the community. Over the past year or so it seems that everybody needs a bit of extra help. So we wanted to help give that bit of extra help,” said Rempel, after boosting a car in the city’s north end.

He said that as of late Wednesday morning, he had already boosted around 20 vehicles with most of the afternoon already booked up.

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“Over a couple hundred bucks has been collected. But if you can’t afford anything that’s fine. We’re just out here trying to help people,” Rempel said.

Awasiw: A Place of Hope is a partnership between All Nations Hope Network (ANHN) and YWCA Regina. It opened on Dec. 26 and has been operating 24 hours a day as a place for those in need to warm up and have a bite in a safe environment.

2:34 Extreme cold lasting into next week: Feb. 8 Saskatchewan weather outlook

Even before the cold snap, the shelter was busy.

COVID-19 restrictions shuttered most of Regina’s drop-in centres that were connected to other businesses and organizations, simultaneously limiting who can access shelter programs in the city.

Rempel said that so far, reaction to his efforts has been as warm as a running engine.

“It’s amazing. People are just so grateful. And it’s not just the people I’m boosting. People everywhere are just so thankful that there’s still good folks out there willing to go out and help people,” he said.

If you need a boost, head to the Rempel Contracting Facebook page for more details.

He’s donating his time from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and says he expects he’ll boost more than 100 vehicles by Friday night.