Lisa Markin received an early Christmas present this year. She was the grand winner in Castlegar News' Win $2,011 to Spend at Participating Castlegar Businesses Shopping Spree contest.
Markin, accompanied by Castlegar News' Publisher Chris Hopkyns and Reporter/Photographer Craig LIndsay, went to six local businesses on Wednesday and received gift certificates from each.
She plans to use part of the money to help out a less fortunate local family.
"We want to help out some friends of ours that are close to using the food bank," she said. "We're going to give cash to the struggling family."
Markin's two children, Adam and Selena, have already got into the act of giving. The two raised $140 for Cops for Kids this summer with a bottle drive. The kids also used their birthday money to purchase school supplies for one of the students at their school.