Donations for refugees exceed expections at Fat Badger pub

A downtown Regina pub, the Fat Badger, has wrapped up a campaign to be a drop-off location for donations to aid charity groups.

The pub's Niall O'Hanlon was moved to take action when it was learned Regina would become a destination for Syrian refugees.

After offering his premises as a drop-off point, O'Hanlon was soon collecting truckloads of household items for charities.

"Regina was just fantastic," he said of the response to the campaign. "I think we collected enough for the province."

He said a rough tally of the value of the goods received is $180,000.

While he also pickedupdonations, the Fat Badger became a magnet for people looking to contribute.

"It was just a handy, very convenient place," he said, adding the response was more than he expected. "I thought I'd be moving like a couple of couches and then it turned into a three-week job. Like full-time, 12 hours a day."

O'Hanlon said he was happy things worked out the way they did and the charities have told him he can wrap things up.

"I had a lot of fun doing it. I met tons of nice people and it was great," he said. "We're just a bunch of guys with trucks that can move stuff and just help out these charities until they were ready to take it."