Doug Irving, a realtor with Re/Max of Duncan, hands over gift cards worth more than $11,000 from Thrifty’s to the United Steelworkers’ Jodie Morgan on Dec. 20 to be handed out to the workers on strike to help them through Christmas. (Submitted photo)

Businesses and individuals in the Cowichan Valley raised $11,100 in the last few weeks to help local members of the United Steelworkers, who have been on strike since July 1, and their families have a festive Christmas season.

Doug Irving, a realtor with ReMax of Duncan who was once a Steelworker himself, led the fundraising campaign and handed over the amount raised in gift cards from Thrifty’s to the United Steelworkers’ Jodie Morgan on Dec. 20 to be handed out to the striking workers.

There are 520 Steelworkers in the union’s southern local impacted by the long strike at Western Forest Products’ operations, and Irving began his campaign with the thought that many of them probably need some financial help getting through Christmas.