Helping the Young and the Aged in Arica, Chile

Aldo Lombardi likes to help the disadvantaged. He says, "It feels good and is the right thing to do." Aldo is the owner of Canadian Tire Store #27 – the one in Dundas.  He told us about his family background, his emigration to Canada in 1974 (about the time of the Chilean uprising and political upheaval), his businesses in both Canada and Chile … and his commitment to doing some “Rotary-style” work in his cultural homeland.

Last year, Aldo put up a sign and asked for used bicycles for an orphanage in Arica, in the northern part of Chile. The response from Dundas residents was fantastic, getting over 300 bikes which he fixed up for distribution!  He added wheelchairs, walkers and crutches to this year’s container … as well as many more bicycles.  He even has around 45 that he is giving to CityKidz.  Aldo’s presentation was well received by the members who thanked him for his commitment to doing “service above self”, a condition he said he got from his father who expected him to deliver excess farm produce to a local orphanage when he was just a young boy on the family farm.