Coca-Cola and Santa are making their annual appearance in Grande Prairie at the New Horizon Co-op to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Alberta.
Northern Bottling Distributors has donated 1200 12-packs of Coca-Cola products for this year’s House of Hope campaign to be available for purchase for $7 at the Co-op. Northern Bottling representative Kelly George says 100 percent of proceeds will be donated to Ronald McDonald House in Alberta.
“They stay here in Alberta, and it sells out every year so we fully expect it to sell out again this year.”
George says the House of Hope has become a Christmas tradition in Grande Prairie. She says that proceeds going to RMHC can alleviate some stress for families who have to travel to children’s hospitals outside of the city.
“Kids have to travel to Edmonton when they’re in need of specific treatments because we don’t have a children’s hospital in Grande Prairie.”
“The cost of families living in a city with a specialty children’s hospital is huge,” she says. “Being able to have the resources and the funds for these families to house them and their families when they have to travel for illness, it takes a huge pressure off these families,”
She adds that the event serves to put residents in the holiday mood, as Coca-Cola and Santa have become Christmas icons. As a result, George says Northern Bottling has opted to decorate one of their delivery trucks which will light up the holidays in Grande Prairie for its second year in 2023.
“Coke and Santa and Christmas go hand in hand, and that’s why this year we have the holiday truck,” she says. “The smiles and happiness that this lit-up truck brings is phenomenal.”
Northern Bottling will be on location at 8:30 a.m. on December 7th, and cases are available for one day only.