There are some people in the world that are truly special and make such a great impact on the rest of the world with their kindheartedness and generosity. The 62-year-old woman Gia Tran from downtown Vancouver is one of them.
Almost every single day, Gia pays the office of the B.C. Cancer Foundation a visit.
Just a couple of days ago, the woman came walking in with a huge smile on her face and some loving words about the charity. She also brought a $10 bill and a $2 coin, which has become a daily habit.
Whenever the workers at the charity’s office see Gia entering, they know they’re in for their highlight of the day.
“It’s always the same,” receptionist Dianne Parker told CBC Canada. “She comes in with a big smile and she always says, ‘I love everybody here, and I want to help people.'”
Every day, Gia comes by with a small amount of cash in hand, but all those smaller amounts have definitely added up over the years, especially considering that the woman has been doing this for over two decades.
“No matter what kind of day you’re having, when Gia comes in, you forget about it and just focus on her warmth, and her laughter and her true benevolence,” Sarah Roth of the B.C. Cancer Foundation told.
Gia has been collecting bottles and cans in the Vancouver Eastside neighborhood for no less than 21 years.
Almost every single day, you’ll find Gia checking the Hastings area in her city to collect up to three large bags full of cans and bottles. She then gets the refunds for the drink containers and hands the full amount of cash she receives from the deposits to the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
Gia’s children often try to convince her to stay home, but this woman’s generosity and her huge heart for other people are just too strong.
“My kids say, ‘Mom, I don’t want you to go outside. It’s too cold,'” Tran said. “I say: ‘No, I go. I want to help people. I want to go to the hospital — cancer. I help people.’
“My kids say, ‘OK, you go, you go.'”
The woman spends almost an hour every day to collect the drink containers, and it’s a lot busier during the summer. She also definitely prefers to collect cans, because the bottles are much heavier to carry around.
“Bottles, I’m not happy,” the kind woman told. “Cans, easy.”
Bus drivers often refuse to transport Gia with her bags of bottles, so she usually goes to the return depot on foot.
Once she’s collected enough bottles or cans, she begins her trip to the depot.
“I walk. On the bus I only get one bag, not two bags,” said Tran. “I walk, I don’t care.”
The trip from her home area to the foundation’s office takes about 45 minutes on a good day. However, she says that she spends up to an hour and a half traveling to the office during the winter.
Gia herself doesn’t really have a reason why she chose this charity, as she just wants to see people happy.
“I don’t know why,” she said. “People happy, I’m happy too.”
“She is like the joy of our day when she comes, absolutely,” Sarah Roth of the B.C. Cancer foundation added.
“She’s just here because of the kindness of her heart, and that then spills into our whole office and it makes everybody smile and it makes everyone feel good,” she told. “It’s an amazing story of gratitude, of altruism.”
The employees of the charity organization have traced back records of Gia’s donations and estimate that she has donated more than 15,000 Canadian dollars over the past years.
What an incredible woman!
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