B.C. son helps mom replace cherished memories after toonie collection stolen
After a fire destroyed most of the pictures of her children growing up, Mandy Lamarche discovered she could still recall their priceless moments together through coin collecting.
Mandy says her children and grandchildren would often find coins when they were with her and offer them as a “special” gift.
“(For them) it was special,” Mandy smiles. “So for me it was special.”
So, Mandy started collecting the commemorative toonies to honour them.
“The reason I get up every morning is my kids,” Mandy says.
But then, after a recent break-in, Mandy found all her coins were stolen.
“My son just happened to call me at that moment,” Mandy recalls. “I tried not to let him hear me crying.”
But her son, Coty Pleich Drouillard, did hear.
“It was really hard to see her like that,” Coty says.
After consoling his mom, Coty reached out on social media (under a false name to keep his plan a surprise) offering to trade people his regular toonies for their commemorative ones.
“I got a really amazing response from the community,” Coty smiles.
Coty says he drove countless hours and kilometres exchanging coins with strangers (who lived as close as the communities surrounding him to as far away as the province next to him), collecting 30 toonies, three loonies, and a pair of two dollar bills.
“It’s incredible!” Coty says, showing off the collection. “I can’t wait for my mother’s reaction.”
He can’t wait to give back to the mom who gave so much when they were growing up with so little. She raised her kids as a single parent until Coty was 13.
“She would go without eating to feed us,” Coty says. “She would work triple shifts coming up to Christmas to give us everything we wanted.”
So this Christmas, Coty surprised his mom with the gift she didn’t even know she needed.
His family captured the moment on camera. The video shows Mandy opening a card containing coins, followed by a box filled with them, before Coty shares the story behind them.
“I’ve never felt so overwhelmed,” Mandy says, explaining her emotions at the time ranged from disbelief to joy to gratitude.
“This makes it even more special than the ones I had before,” Mandy smiles.
Because more than the coins’ collective value, Mandy’s restored collection is now multiplied by other people’s collective kindness.
Correction
The original version of this story referred to Mandy as a single mom. In fact, though she was a single parent while her children were young, Coty says she has been with her husband, Coty's stepdad, since her son was 13.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.