The Community Arts Council of Prince George & District, which operates Studio 2880, has a custodian and event assistant who relies on his bike to get to and from work.
However, Johnathan Model, who got the job at the local arts council through an employment partnership with AiMHi, hasn’t had a working bike for quite some time. A staff member at Studio 2880 reached out Tuesday to Cariboo-Prince George MPTodd Doherty, who immediately went into his garage to get his own bike.
“But my wife reminded me that I had donated my bike to someone last year that had a similar issue,” Doherty said.
“So I went to Canadian Tire and everyone knows how great owner Selen Alpay and manager Dave (Shuvera) are,” Doherty said. “I ran into Dave and told him what the issue was and that I was picking up a bike and I asked if Canadian Tire wanted to partner with me and he said don’t worry about it. So we picked out a bike and a helmet and a lock and presented it to John who is so worthy and does incredible work.”
Doherty gives all the credit for the new bike to Canadian Tire’s generosity.
“Once again Selen Alpay and manager Dave came to the aid of community and that’s incredible,” Doherty said.
There are many special members of the Studio 2880 community and the arts is always about diversity and is open to people of all walks of life, said Eli Klasner, executive director of the CAC.
“The CAC has had a wonderful relationship with AiMHi over the years, providing employment services for their clients who come to work with us and John’s been part of the family for the last six or seven years now and he’s one of the most kind, hard-working people that goes out of his way to do extra, never complains and always wants to be part of the events we’re doing.”
And when it comes to doing the hard work of cleanup at Studio 2880, Klasner said Johnathan is always there to help.
“When we realized that John’s only reliable mode of transportation that allows freedom and flexibility wasn’t available any more we knew we had to do something – it’s not fair,” Klasner said. “John doesn’t drive, public transportation is what it is in the community but John should have the flexibility and versatility that we all take for granted. When we want to go some place we just get in our cars and go and here’s a very special person who is interested in helping out and working and making contributions to the community so that’s why it was really important for us to reach out to Todd Doherty and ask him what he thought we could do to help this person to give him the lift up, the helping hand he needed, where he can continue to enjoy his life and be a contributing member of society.”
Johnathan's old bike was worn out and kept breaking down on the way to work. It would take about an hour to walk to work so he's very grateful for the new one.
“I was happy with it,” Johnathan said, who cleans Studio 2880 and helps with setup and takedown for special events.
“It cuts down on costs, too, so I’ll be using that money on more dog food.”
Johnathan has had a shih tzu named Princess since she was a puppy. She’s about five years old now.
Over the years there have been many occasions where Johnathan got a little help from his coworkers, like taxis home when his bike broke down, or that time he got sick and an arts council guild member drove him home. And then there was that time when a delicious pancake breakfast found its way into his hands. All are appreciated, he said.
“They feel like family to me,” Johnathan said.
