Pre-teen pays it forward by helping homeless

Ten-year-old Emily Tipper, sister Breanne and friend Madisson Daly handed out 150 bagged lunches on Dec. 23 to Victoria’s homeless. Tipper took this
initiative by collecting more than $400 over the year by returning drink bottles.

It took 10-year-old Emily Tipper a year to collect and recyclable enough bottles to feed 150 homeless people in Victoria.

On Dec. 23 she took to the streets with members of her family to see her efforts pay off.

Joined by father MS Mark Tipper, sister Breanne and friend Madisson Daly, they handed out homemade lunches.

The family baked gingerbread cookies, cooked three large turkeys, and then set up an assembly line in their kitchen to prepare turkey sandwiches. They added oranges and candy canes to the bagged lunches using the $400 Emily raised over the year to pay for the
groceries.

“We went through town to Pandora, Yates, Blanshard, Johnson Street, and ended up giving lunches in the chapel at the Salvation Army and Our Place,” says MS Tipper.

“On Ellis Road we got stormed with people wanting food and we ended up running out and had to turn people away,” he said.

“I felt happy to know that 150 people were going to have a meal, but was also really sad when we ran out of lunches and there were still people who needed them,” says Emily.

One woman ran up to Emily and said she hadn’t eaten in days. She was emotional and told Emily to stay in school.

At the Rock Bay shelter a First Nations man was so thankful he gave Emily a First Nations drawing.

“I wasn’t expecting anything at all. I thought somebody should do something to help the homeless, and this was something that, as a 10 year old, I was able to do,” said Emily.

“Next year I would like to hand out 300 lunches, and in the future I will see if I can do more,” she adds.

“I was very proud of her,” says her father. “She wears her feelings on her sleeve and is always worried about other people. Since Christmas Emily has already raised $20 for next year.”

If anyone wants to donate their bottles for this cause MS Tipper will arrange to pick them up. He can be reached at 250-363-4668.

-Shelley Lipke, Staff Writer