Friends are rallying behind the owner of Dave’s Pop Culture, pledging to keep the Ladner Village store open following a terrible car accident last week.
Dave Strutt was the driver of a van involved in a serious collision with a semi-truck on Ladner Trunk Road Nov. 23.
Daylene Jones, one of many friends who have stepped up to keep the store open, said Strutt has a long road to recovery.
She said the whole left side of his body has broken bones, including a broken hip, damaged knee, broken arm in three places and compressed ribs.
“He is still in a lot of pain and has trouble sitting up. He’s out of ICU, but still in hospital,” Jones said. “It could be weeks, months before he is fully recovered. We just don’t know.”
Once friends learned of Strutt’s accident, they came to his aid.
“Everyone has stepped up. We have a large group of friends who are all volunteering their time to keep things going,” she said. “With this being Christmas, this is Dave’s busiest time.”
The Bridge Street store celebrated its fifth anniversary on Oct. 1.
“This is really a community hub where people socialize, friendship, play games. It’s really an important part of the community,” she added. “My husband and I moved to Ladner because of the store. We liked it so much we just wanted to be a part of it.”
On Wednesday evening, friends and staff were busy re-stocking the store in anticipation of a sale of in-stock items where patrons will get major discounts depending on the item.
A charity games tournament is set for Sunday, Dec. 11 from noon to 5 p.m. to also help raise money. The game of choice will be DC Deck Building, one of Strutt’s favourites. There is a $25 buy-in for participants.
“We are also trying to support the community, so if people are not gamers themselves, we’re encouraging them to come in and buy a game, or a toy or a comic, and donate it to Deltassist,” said Jones. “Every year Dave donates toys and games to them, so it’s a really important charity for him.
“He tells a story every Christmas that one time he donated, I think some magic cards, and a mom came in and told him how much she appreciated the gift and that it was the first time her son was able to get something like that. We really want to keep that legacy alive.”
The Ladner Business Association is also stepping up, trying to spread the word.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” said LBA president Andrea Frustaci. “We just want to let the community know what is going on and if they can help out and support the store, that would be appreciated.
The LBA is in the process of organizing a merchants’ open house on Dec. 18. The comic store plans to be a part of that event, offering caricatures for sale done by local comic artists and maybe some gift-wrapping by donation.
