Poppys Collection in Port Carling is raffling a four-foot stuffed toy whale and donating proceeds, along with a portion of store sales, to wildfire recovery efforts in Small Point–Adams Cove, N.L.
“They’re such a welcoming community, they’re always willing to help out … and this time they’re the ones who need help,” said Kathryn McNully, who owns and operates Poppys.
Tickets cost $25 and are available online and in-store. The whale, a plush toy by London-based Jellycat, retails for $1,100. McNully said all raffle proceeds, and part of Poppys’ sales, will go to the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador’s North Shore Fire Recovery Fund, which supports families displaced by the Kingston wildfire.
“I thought what better to do than raffle this whale off, because the whale seems just very appropriate … to represent Newfoundland,” McNully said.
According to the foundation, the fund has raised $26,474.63 toward its $150,000 goal. CFNL, a registered charity, is waiving its cost recovery fees, allowing all donations to go directly to the affected communities.
The Kingston fire began in early August and has grown to more than 8,000 hectares, sweeping through several coastal communities and destroying homes, Cabot Academy elementary school in Western Bay, and local infrastructure.
“It’s devastating … we believe the elementary school is completely wiped out,” McNully said. “We still don’t know the extent of the damage just because it’s still ongoing, and it’s been such an unpredictable fire.”
McNully said her sister and uncle were among those evacuated, while her mother still lives in Small Point. “We believe our house is okay, but the town said that it’s still such a wild and unpredictable fire, we don’t know,” she said.
Small Point has long been a special place for her family. “I spent my summers picking berries with my pop, learning how to fish, learning how to fly fish, spending time with my cousins going up and down to the beach … watching whales on morning walks around the point,” McNully said. “It just feels like such a slice of paradise … it’s just one of a kind.”
She named the store after her grandfather, Vernon Hollett, whom she called Poppy. He is buried in Small Point.
“I just feel like now’s the time that we kind of have to learn from the Newfoundlanders and really give what we can and just do what we can to support this community,” she said.
