Revelstoke snow removal service for seniors ‘snowballs’ after online support pours in

When Sandra Gregory gave an elderly stranger a ride one chilly night in Revelstoke, she didn’t expect anything to come of it, until her phone started buzzing.

Gregory was visiting a friend for dinner, and on her drive home noticed a dark figure walking with a cane along an icy path last week in -15 C. She stopped, gave the stranger a ride to church, and offered her phone number in case the woman needed help with anything else.

The woman didn’t call, but her friend did, asking Gregory for help to remove snow from her roof as she feared it might collapse.

“She’s 88 and she has no family in Revelstoke,” Gregory said.

After donning her snowpants and shovelling the snow, Gregory started a Facebook group on Tuesday, Jan 21, to connect volunteers with those in need, as her phone kept buzzing. Seniors from around town had begun calling, asking for assistance to remove snow. 

Since then, the group called Revelstoke Unstuck has gained almost 200 members and 20 regulars who are volunteering their time and equipment to help the elderly and disabled.

Gregory was baffled by the amount of support she gathered from the community, and didn’t expect such a large response.

“The snowball hit me and we’re all rolling down this together,” she laughed. “It’s what I do.”

Gregory was supposed to take a little break when she came back to Revelstoke from West Africa in January. Since September 2019, she had been volunteering with EQWIP HUBs, which helps youth and young women to build organizations and businesses within their communities.

While she’s not sure where the future lies for the group, “I’m trying to see what the need is. I can’t see this losing momentum in a service being provided in the winters,” she said.

"I truly do believe that each of us has the ability to make an impact on someone’s life,” Gregory said.

“A community only gets stronger by the support of one another.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.