Emily Wager will bake day and night if that’s what it takes to make a Christmas wish come true for her neighbour.
The Queen’s Park resident is raising funds to buy a scooter for her neighbour Bob, who has multiple health issues and is on a disability pension. She’s set up a Go Fund Me account, where folks can place orders for home-baked cookies, with all proceeds going toward a scooter for Bob.
“He needs a specialized scooter because of all of his equipment,” she said. “I’m hoping to get about $2,500, but anything we get will go toward the scooter. I’m going to try and run it as long as I can to get as much as I can for it.”
Wager used to see Bob going out collecting bottles daily and thought he was doing it to put food on his table. One Christmas Eve he knocked at the door of her family’s home, with a sack full of presents; he’d been saving all of the money raised through collecting bottles to give back to others.
“It was one of the most selfless things I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It brought my whole family to tears. Every day, he’s out there carrying his oxygen tank with him to, with his little walker, a couple miles to the bottle depot and back.”
Wager said Bob is a selfless man who has continued this tradition for a few years now, even bringing toys for her dog.
“It’s really tough for him to get around. I’ve noticed in the past year or so that he hasn’t been going out much anymore,” she told the Record. “I have been visiting and talking to him about it. He says it’s too hard on his body to go out and walk everywhere.”
Wager would like to repay the generosity Bob has shown her family by buying him a much-needed scooter.
“I’d love to have him show up on Christmas Eve and have something special for him this year,” she said. “If not, I want to keep working to hopefully get it for him sometime in the New Year.
Wager has embarked on a campaign to raise money – one cookie at a time. She’s no stranger to baking cookies for a good cause, having sold cookies at the Queen’s Park neighbourhood’s annual garage sale and donated funds to Canuck Place for years.
“I’ve been told they’re good. I make them every year and they are my grandma’s recipe. I’ve never had any complaints about them,” she laughed. “I’ve been told people come back to the garage sales every year for the chocolate chip and ginger snaps.
Not your faves? Wager is also willing to bake shortbread and sugar cookies to help Bob.
“I set up the Go Fund Me page and realized, I needed to give back something to try and get donations,” she said. “I thought this is the perfect time. I’m baking Christmas cookies anyways and people like to give baked goods as gifts.”
Wager will bake and deliver orders of cookies - $1 per cookie (minimum donation of $5). She’s prepared to bake orders of up to 1,000 cookies.
“I would spend an entire day baking,” she laughed. “I bake about a thousand cookies for the garage sale every year. It takes a long time, but I know I can do it. I will probably have to call some friends over, but I’ll get it done.”
If you’d like to place an order for cookies and help Wager buy a scooter for Bob visit www.GoFundMe.com/BuyBobAScooter.
