Port Moody residents to set up 'Christmas store' of donations for fire victims

Donations have piled up for 140 people who were displaced when a fire tore through part of the Mountainview Co-op in Port Moody.

• Port Moody fire forces dozens out of their homes

Now fundraising organizers want to place the goods, which range from bicycles to board games, to kitchen utensils and clothing in something like a 'store' so residents of the co-op can shop through for what they need.

"It's unbelievable," said Jean-Pierre Rukundo, who along with his nine-year-old daughter Noura, was impacted by the fire. "Sometimes you feel like you are lonely. But we are not ... we are not."

The Rukundos are among nearly 50 families who lost their homes.

But fundraising organizers, like Tina D'Amelio, say Port Moody has really come through.

"People have been amazing," she said as residents dropped off goods at a location on Saturday. "It was way more than I expected."

"We even had a very, very senior lady," she added. "She came in a taxi and got out of the car in the rain to give a gift card for the people. I was blown away by that. I'm going to cry! Oh, it was great."