Amy Carmichael
Canadian Press
December 20, 2004
VANCOUVER (CP) - Parking violators lined up before dawn hugging teddy bears and dolls, eager for the chance to erase their sins with a toy donation.
The charity drive by a major parking lot operator, which forgave fines in exchange for play things for needy children, was as wild as a sugar plum dream come true for ticket holders. Especially Mike Deverra, a waiter with $800 in fines.
"I worked at a restaurant in an office tower and would always park in the lot below. The metre would run out before my shift was up. I moved and the collection notices were being sent to my old address. It really added up," said Deverra, weary from his first toy-store shopping mission.
"I got a bunch of dolls, Hotwheel toys. It really paid off."
Impark's scheme to improve community relations may have earned it some new friends. But for many customers, it was a chance to spread bubbling ill will, not holiday cheer.
"I absolutely loathe Impark. I'd rather have a child have a toy than give any more money to Impark" said Stephanie Jewell.
"They are not a community-based organization and they're generally a royal pain in the neck.
"You are guilty until proven innocent, which really annoys me. You can never get through to anyone in customer service. If you make a mistake with one of their parking machines, you're considered in the wrong, even though it's their machine," she said after slamming down a toy on the donation table.
Workers on the receiving line couldn't help but smile.
"These are all people who sit on the phone all day and listen to customer complaints," said Corey Medgyesi, Impark's manager of parking enforcement and collections.
"They've all got bigger smiles on their faces today then they usually do at work."
Watching the toys form a small mountain in the Salvation Army lobby, Medgyesi said it looks like Impark will be taking a significant hit, forgiving more tickets than he had anticipated.
"The turnout has been pretty overwhelming. I had hoped to figure out the final tally today, but I think it's going to take a couple of days to count all this up."
Impark offices in Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George joined the effort Monday. All partnered with the Salvation Army, which will distribute the toys to needy children for Christmas.
Army spokesman John Murray said he hopes other companies will be inspired to come up with equally creative ways to give back.
"This is corporate social responsibility in action. We certainly celebrate that and obviously the community does too. There are literally thousands of toys here that will make a difference in the lives of so many kids this season.
"And people lined up at 5:30 this morning to make it happen, they had coffee and doughnuts and lawn chairs set up waiting for the doors to open. It's really been amazing."
The army has seen donations fall in a number of cities this year. Murray said he's still hopeful the tally will rise in the few days left before Christmas.