Million Dollar Bus in St. John’s to help Bridges to Hope
Give ’em an inch, they’ll drive a mile
Outside of Bridges to Hope on Cookstown Road in St. John’s sits the gas-powered home and office of Ryan Lancaster.
Last September, Lancaster quit his job in Kelowna, B.C., sold his home and repurposed what is now called the Million Dollar Bus.
“The Million Dollar Bus is an initiative to jumpstart community non-profits in cities across Canada,” Lancaster said Monday.
“Wanting to do something more purposeful with my life, we drove across Canada connecting with different nonprofits that we could potentially work with.”
Jody Williams, manager of Bridges to Hope, has had an idea called the Smart Snack program for about a year. Smart Snack is a program that seeks to provide healthy alternatives for kids.
While donations of high-sugar or processed foods are keeping people alive, Williams wanted to offer an opportunity for kids to thrive, rather than just survive.
Williams saw a need — and created an idea to fill that need — but lacked the marketing abilities or the money to make it happen.
That’s where Lancaster comes in. “He just kind of showed up,” Williams said.
How It Works
Donations to the campaign start at $10. Each $10 donation buys a square inch on the bus where you could put your name, business or photo, or an inspiring quote.
The goal for this particular campaign is to reach $5,000 for Bridges to Hope’s Smart Snack program.
After two weeks, the bus will move on to Halifax, then Moncton, N.B., partnering with other non-profit organizations and making its way across Canada.
Operating only in the summers — living in the bus can be quite cold in the winter, Lancaster said — will take Lancaster and his photographer and videographer, Mandy Glinsbockel, between four and five years to make it back to B.C.
If every square inch of the bus ends up covered, Lancaster and Glinsbockel will have raised $1 million for charities across Canada.
People interested in donating to the campaign can go online to www.milliondollarbus.com or www.bridgestohope. ca. Tickets to the upcoming Backyard Benefit at Baly Haly are also available for purchase on Bridges to Hope’s website.