VIDEO: Car given to Chilliwack woman who goes ‘above and beyond’ for community

A Chilliwack woman who constantly steps up to help her community was given a much-needed early Christmas present on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

Trisha Mercer is the winner of the 2021 Valley Toyota-Fix Auto car giveaway, an annual campaign where a worthy Chilliwack resident is gifted a used vehicle.

“You’ve changed my life and my kids,” Mercer said with tears in her eyes on Tuesday.

She’s a single mom with a baby on the way and drives to medical appointments in Surrey on a regular basis. She’s had to rely on other people to get to those appointments.

But usually it’s the community that leans on Mercer for assistance. She is often the first one to rally the community to help families in need.

“Trish is selfless; she gives so much to our community,” said Amber Price, one of three people who nominated her.

Mercer helped gather baby items for a boy who lost his mother in a fatal crash, secured a brand-new fridge and washing machine for a grandmother raising her grandchildren, and helped collect thousands of bottles of water, plus sunscreen, hats and more for homeless people during the summer heatwave, all in the past year alone.

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She helped bring helmets to underprivileged youth so they can use Chilliwack’s new pump track and she’s currently collecting toques, gloves, scarves, shoes and jackets to bring to Chilliwack General Hospital so hospital staff can hand them out to homeless people who have been discharged from the ER.

Those are just a few of the acts of kindness Mercer has undertaken.

Along with Price, Tara Lanyon and Naiomi Weatherill also nominated Mercer to be the recipient of a silver 2005 Toyota Camry.

Lanyon said Mercer goes “above and beyond” for her community and other communities.

“She has helped by serving food with SPARKS (Special People Acts of Random Kindness Shared), gathering donated items for local families who are in need, gathering three vehicle loads of food donations for the people of Lytton and making the drive up there to drop it all off,” Lanyon said.

She is “always helping and giving” even though she needs help as well, Weatherill said. “Her basement was flooding she still took time out to go down to Townsend Park and fill sandbags.”

Mercer said she grew up as a “grey-area kid.” She describes it as someone who can’t get the help they need because they don’t qualify for services, such as teens who have no ID, no home address, don’t go to school or have aged out of the foster care system.

She hitchhiked to B.C. from Newfoundland when she was just 17.

“When I came to B.C., I had one shot. I got one foster parent, she made my life better. She filled the gap.”

Mercer has been helping ever since.

“It’s important to pass it along,” she said. “It takes a village to help people. Maybe people saw that I needed something.”

On Dec. 21, she was handed the keys to her new car.

It came with “bells and whistles” including leather interior, a sunroof, power seats, an alarm and a remote starter, said Niels Larsen, sales manager with Valley Toyota.

The vehicle was purchased brand new from Valley Toyota in 2005 and has only had one owner who took great care of it, he added.

Fix Auto repaired the bumper and fixed some scratches, while Simpson Auto did all the mechanical work, Tom Thompson Auto Glass replaced the windshield, Big O Tires supplied new tires, Napa donated the auto parts, and HUB International gave Mercer six months ($1,000) of free insurance.

“It means a lot for all of us to help someone so deserving,” Larsen said.

Mercer said she’s happy to have a vehicle that won’t overheat four blocks from her home. She’s grateful she can take her kids to medical appointments in Surrey and also continue to help deliver items to people in need in the community.

Later that day, after hearing Mercer’s story, a complete stranger gave her $750. She plans to head out in her new car to buy Christmas presents for five kids in the community who didn’t receive any.

“I don’t know what to say other than thank you for thinking of us,” she said. “I never would ask for someone to give me a car. I just want to make sure someone else didn’t need it more than I did.”