Getting bogged down by paperwork while doing spring cleaning? New West firefighters can help you out.
The New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society’s annual shred-athon is taking place on Saturday, June 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at New Westminster City Hall.
Firefighter Glen Bailey, president of the charitable society, said this year’s shred-athon will be a drive-thru event.
“They can open up their trunks, and we will empty everything out for them,” he said. “They are welcome to get out if they wish; they are welcome to watch their paper get shredded if they are concerned about their confidential stuff. Generally speaking, what we do is we do throw everything into a big bin – we get a bin full and then we send it to the shredder. But if there is something that is super confidential we will shred it right then and there. Everything is very confidential and shredded on site.”
Residents and businesses are invited to bring paperwork in need of shredding to the shred-athon. Donations will be accepted for the New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society, which raises money for a variety of community and non-profit organizations and events, including the lunch program at St. Barnabas Church, the Lower Mainland Purpose Society, the Volunteer Cancer Drivers program and the New Westminster Secondary School dry grad.
“We’d love to meet people, see people,” Bailey said. “It’s one of those things where we often we see people when they are in times of need. This is a time when we get to see people and talk to them when they are not in a time of need. It’s a really good event for us to reach out and talk to our community.”
The New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society holds a Christmas tree chipping event every January and a shred-athon in the spring.
“This is, like the tree chipping, one of our larger events, certainly one of our largest fundraising events,” Bailey said. “It’s probably responsible for close to 25% of our annual revenues. It’s very significant.”
