COQUITLAM, B.C. – If you take a look inside Macarthy Whyzel’s garage, you’ll find it crammed from floor to ceiling with all kinds of containers. “It’s a big game of Tetris basically,” Macarthy smiles. “This has become the norm around here.” But to appreciate why this is just the start of all the stuff he’s storing, we need to go back to when it became the norm for young Macarthy to join his family in delivering food to folks who had no homes. “I think from a very early age it was demonstrated that if you can help, you should help,” Macarthy says. So, it was no surprise that Macarthy wanted to be a police officer when grew up. “I saw the sirens and it was, ‘They’re going to help people,” Macarthy recalls. “And that’s, I think, where it came from.” But before he could pursue that dream, 14-year-old Macarthy decided to stage a Halloween display at his home to raise money for charity. “It generated probably like $10 (the first year),” Macarthy smiles. “Probably donations that my parents put into the little bin we had.” But Macarthy was undeterred, produced the spooky fundraiser for nine more years, and ended up raising more than $20,000 over a decade to buy supplies that he dropped off at local charities. But after he’d make the donations, Macarthy didn’t feel satisfied. “(I’d) drive away actually feeling kind of empty inside,” Macarthy says. “Because I felt like I didn’t want to wait another 365 days to do something good for the community,” So, during breaks from studying to get a degree in criminology, Macarthy started making care packages for people in need, who he might happen upon during his day. “Anytime you’re going to school, work, whatever, I stop, I say hello. I recognize them as a person,” Macarthy says. “And hopefully make their day fractionally better.” That worked so well that Macarthy invited other people to join him, connected with local charities, and formed a community outreach team called The Uplifting Group. Which brings us back to his garage, which is filled with boxes containing winter clothes. It’s one of multiple rooms in his home stocked with outreach items, from hygiene products to food and clothes. Whenever a community group runs out of supplies, no matter what time of year, they can contact Macarthy to restock them. “If, as a collective, everyone pitched in slightly,” Macarthy says. “We can move mountains as a society.” So, although he’s earned his degree, Macarthy is unsure if he’ll keep striving to be a police officer, because he’s already achieved his boyhood dream of growing up to help people. “I’m hopeful that when I’m 80 years old, I’ll still be making care packages and helping people in the community,” Macarthy smiles. “That’s my lifelong goal.”
