'You can't put a price on sentiment': Brandon handyman praised online for selfless work
A handyman in Brandon, Man., is being praised online for his big heart and selfless work.
“I’ve always been a maintenance man,” said Randy Phillips. “I love to fix things and tinker, ever since I was young.”
Phillips offers his minor computer repair services to those in the community that need it, and only charges by donation.
“During the pandemic, it really hit some people,” Phillips said. "And now with the price of gas and the economy the way it is, I just thought, you know, it’s hard for some people to make ends meet.”
Phillips was inspired to start paying it forward after seeing people promoting similar acts of goodwill online.
"There was a lady in Kamloops during the pandemic, during that big toilet paper fiasco where people were hoarding toilet paper and other products, and a lot of seniors couldn’t get out to get their shopping done,” he said. “This girl says, ‘I’m going to go out and do your shopping for you and deliver it for you for free.’ She was even paying for some of the products.”
Phillips was able to help Kimberly Poole, a woman who needed access to the computer of her aunt who had passed away. Poole said she’s been told before that it might not be possible, the data on the computer might be lost, or it would cost several hundred dollars.
“It was the day that my aunt had passed away five years later,” she said. “As I was scrolling through Facebook, I end up seeing a post that mentioned he was working on computers by donation only, and that he could possibly retrieve photos from computer hard drives. When I saw that, I thought it was worth a shot.”
Phillips was not only able to regain access to her computer, but managed to save all of the files stored there as well.
Poole was so appreciative that she wrote a post on the “People of Brandon” Facebook group about her experience and what it meant to her.
“You can’t put a price on sentiment,” she said. “When I was able to go through all of those pictures, it was a relief. I had access to everything that I thought I’d never have access to again.”
The post has since garnered over 450 reacts and comments from friends and other clients of Phillips, praising him for his work and his overall selfless character.
“He doesn’t think that what he’s doing is generous,” said Jen Shymanski, whose partner worked with Phillips previously and they remained friends. “To him, it’s just the magic that is Randy.”
“I was going through some difficult times and was a little low on food. I heard a knock on my door and when I opened it, there was a grocery cart full of food,” said Cheryl Drader, a B.C. resident who was a tenant in a building that Phillips was the handyman of. “I knew it was him because I saw him running away, it was really nice to get that.”
“I’m not a business,” said Phillips. "It’s just something I thought, you know, this is my hobby. If they want to leave a gratuity or whatever, that’s okay. That kudos was enough. When Kimberly posted that, I was very moved.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.