Local businessman stays in the spirit of giving
Christmas is coming six months early to handful of charitable groups in the city and Cameron Thun is playing the role as Santa Claus.
At least twice a year, Thun makes his rounds handing out gifts of money to show his support for the good work those organizations do.
On Sunday, Thun dropped by the Child Development Centre to hand out a fistful of dollars, having already dropped off a $1,000 cheque to the Prince George branch of the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Earlier last week, he gave the Prince George Hospice Society a $1,000 boost when he bought nine tickets on the Hospice Dream Home Lottery, distributed to nine lucky winners in a random draw on the Hell Yeah Prince George Facebook site.
“It’s been wonderful having Cam so supportive,” said Darrell Roze, executive director of the Child Development Centre.
“We were just looking at how much equipment that we’ve purchased over the last few years. We insured our loan equipment for $50,000 several years ago and it’s gone up to $250,000 now.
“It’s donations like Cam’s that allowed us to dramatically improve the quality of the equipment we’re able to loan to families.
“Training wheelchairs for small children cost about $11,000.
“Everything for special-needs children is really expensive and we rely on community support for those types of things. Cam is a tremendous supporter.”
Also on Thun’s list of chimneys to slide down bearing gifts from his wallet were the Connaught Youth Centre, Prince George Animal Rescue Society, which each received $1,000 donations, and the Salvation Army, which got $1,500.
The money comes out of the profits Thun has earned as owner of several Prince George liquor establishments.
A & P Thun Thunderstruck Holdings, named after his parents Al and Pauline, operates the First Litre Pub, Westwood Pub, Bon Voyage Liquor Store, Liquor On Fifth and until recently, Liquor on the Hart.
Since 1972, when his parents began operating the National Hotel on First Avenue, Thun figures he and his family have given out more than $1 million to non-profit organizations in the city.
“I’m so proud to be from Prince George,” said Thun.
“I frickin’ love the people here and our family has done very well off the city and we just believe in giving back.
“It makes you feel good. I teach my children to do it. It’s just making the community a better place, and if everybody was to do that there would be a lot less pain in the world.”
For several years, the Thun family sponsored the Canada Day fireworks at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park, and each year that was a $10,000 bill.
That’s a lot of money up in smoke but it put smiles on many faces and was much-anticipated event.
“We’d always go to the park to watch the fireworks and as they were popping off my mother would go, ‘$175, $210, $500,’ - she was rhyming off the price of all the explosions, which I thought was pretty funny.”