By Chad Klassen

Kamloops firefighter giving back through purchase of Penny Pinchers

May 22, 2018 | 4:12 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops firefighter David Sakaki has found yet another way to help people around the world, purchasing Penny Pinchers to help fund some of the charitable projects. 

Sakaki has been travelling to Nicaragua for years to deliver emergency vehicles and other essential supplies to that country, funding it through community donations and his own personal bank account. Now he’s put his own money into the thrift store on the North Shore. 

“We’re basically using it as a way to give back to the community,” says Sakaki, who received a Queen Diamond Jubilee medal in 2015 for his work. “The community’s been so supportive of Penny Pinchers over the years. We’re really going to make an effort to give back to our community locally, provincially through the Burn Fund, and then also with our international projects.”

Sakaki bought Penny Pinchers on March 28, and as the new owner he’s promised to committ at least 50 per cent of the proceeds that will go towards international charities and local charities chosen by the staff. 

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“We’ll donate about $1,000 to an organization of the staff members’ choice, and that’s over and above what we’re funding for everything else, all the other projects that we’re working on,” he notes.

Much of Sakaki’s efforts to the make the world better are focused on Nicaragua, where he’s travelled 25 times as part of Operation Nicaragua, an initiative that sends much-needed emergency vehicles to the South American country. Sakaki says there are 20 in operation with another 10 ready to be shipped soon. 

“We’re sending emergency vehicles to Nicaragua. We’ve made a committment to send 33 units of ambulance and fire trucks. Right now we’re now on our 24th unit, and working on hopefully by the end of next year we should have achieved our goal of 33 emergency vehicles to Nicaragua,” says Sakaki.

Sakaki also plans to use the funds from Penny Pinchers to buy the same ambulance for the West African country Liberia, which doesn’t have one currently.

“We are going to be delivering the first ambulance to a city of millions that does not have an ambulance,” he says. “This is a country that, up until recently, was fighting the Ebola crisis. They were decimated by what happened. They lost a majority of their nurses, doctors, all health professionals, and they didn’t have an ambulance.”

Aside from the charitable work ,the purchase of Penny Pinchers is nostalgic for Sakaki, whose grandfather first constructed the building to run a gas station and Toyota dealership. It was then passed along to Sakaki’s father and family.

Sakaki hopes to carry on the tradition well and help people in need around the globe.