'A feel-good thing': Winnipeg couple’s popular wood pallet snowmen fundraiser back again
A Winnipeg couple who transform unassuming wooden pallets with a little holiday magic is back to raise more money for local charities, one snowman at a time.
Val Ruth and Blaine Wall started creating snowmen out of recycled pallets in the throes of the pandemic in 2020. They decided to sell them and donate the proceeds to charity.
“It was something for us to do, and it turned out to be more popular than we thought it would be,” recalled Ruth in an interview with CTV News Winnipeg.
In the first year, the couple sold about 150 snowmen.
Blown away by the success, they broke out their saw and paintbrushes again in 2021. That year, they sold about 300, donating around $7,600 to a number of local charities and shelters.
This year, they hope to surpass that and have set a $10,000 fundraising goal.
“We’ve made over 300 so far and I still have some time to make more if they start to sell,” Wall said.
Selling for $30 a pop, the snowmen are a joint effort by the pair. Together, they have to find the used pallets, cut them, clean them, and then paint and decorate them.
It’s a process the duo has refined over the years.
“We've become more efficient, and I started in the summer which made a hell of a difference on how it worked,” Wall explained.
The couple says the snowmen are their way of giving back, as they would not be able to donate this amount of money alone.
“We've helped a lot of people with it, and people seem to have appreciated when we've donated to them. Mostly we pick smaller places to send it because they get less, they're unnoticed or not even known about. It's a feel-good thing,” Ruth said.
The snowmen can be purchased by email.
- With files from CTV’s Scott Andersson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.