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Gratitude rocks painted by Victoria family raises money for Thrifty’s holiday food bank

Inspirational quotes encourage a message of love and gratitude in times of adversity
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11-year-old Mimi Russow hands a basket of donations and leftover gratitude rocks to Thrifty’s employee, Praise, to go toward holiday meals for families in need. (Photo courtesy of Soren Russow)

One Greater Victoria family enjoys giving back to the community in creative ways during the holidays.

This year, Soren Russow and his 11-year-old daughter Mimi (Mirella) collected rocks at Beach Cove below Dallas Road, opposite the Beacon Hill Park flagpole.

They took those rocks home, painted them, and put them out into the community in exchange for donations that would go toward Thrifty’s holiday food bank – for every $2 donation, six meals are created for families in need.

“The theme for the rocks was to write inspirational quotes that encourage people to choose gratitude and love over fear and stress,” said Russow. “We ended up raising a total of $111 and brought that into the Quadra McKenzie location where my eldest daughter works.”

When Russow and his daughters did their calculations they were happy to find that a total of 330 meals would be generated with the money they were able to donate.

“The message we wanted to portray is that love and happiness is a choice and that giving back in times of adversity is needed more than ever.”

ALSO READ: Indigenous fabric artist encourages Victoria residents to shop local during the holidays


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