Sask. woman makes 'deeply moving' donation to food bank in memory of daughter killed in 2022
A mother who hopes her daughter will be remembered for her caring and generous heart has donated $1,000 to a Saskatchewan food bank in her memory.
Monique Gamble was 24 years old when she was killed on One Arrow First Nation, north of Saskatoon, on Nov. 29, 2022.
Her mother, Karen Daniels, said she thinks every day and night about how much Gamble helped others. That inspired her to donate to the Good Neighbours Food Centre in Rosthern, which is near One Arrow First Nation.
"The reason why is because I truly love her with all my heart and she was a good person. She loved to help a lot of people and we used to go there [to the food bank] when we were on social assistance," said Daniels.
She said she fondly remembers Gamble always insisting on carrying groceries from the food bank to cars for her family, friends and elders.
Daniels said she was very close to her daughter, and they were raising Gamble's son together.
Speaking with CBC Radio's The Morning Edition, Daniels shared a letter she wrote, addressed to "my daughter Monique in heaven."
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The letter explains how Gamble inspired the donation, Daniels said.
"Losing you was the hardest thing I ever had to deal with," her letter reads.
"It broke me into a million pieces, but I knew you didn't want me to stay in the dark and the painful place.
"I decided that I want to live like you did. I wanted to live with passion and purpose and be the kind-hearted person that you were.
"You are my guide and my teacher, and you have made me a better person."
Donation is 'huge': food bank
Betty Rudachyk, the executive director of the Good Neighbours Food Centre in Rosthern, said Daniels got in touch with her before Christmas about making a donation. She told Rudachyk that her family had used the food bank in the past.
"And so to give us a donation of $1,000 is huge. It's huge. [For] people who have great means, $1,000 might not be a lot of money to them, and they can cough it up as a charitable tax donation," Rudachyk said.
"But in her case, $1,000 is a lot of money. And the fact that she would want to share that with the greater community by providing food to others was deeply moving for me."
Monique Gamble was 24 years old when she was killed on One Arrow First Nation on Nov. 29, 2022. Her mother says she wants her daughter to be remembered for her kindness and willingness to help people. (Submitted by Betty Rudachyk)
Rudachyk said Good Neighbours Food Centre feeds an average of 60 families per week. That requires a lot of food, and therefore a lot of money, she said.
Daniels's donation "will serve that purpose to put compassion in action for people who are in need, which is what she wants her daughter's memory to be about."
Rudachyk said Daniels is making a big difference in her community.
"When you are grieving and you are bereaved and you feel powerless … you can't change what happened, but you can contribute to change somebody else's life," said Rudachyk.
"Think about how we take this horrible experience. How do we take that and turn it into something that has shades of light and goodness in it, versus the darkness and despair?"
Daniels made her donation in memory of Gamble on Friday morning, accompanied by One Arrow First Nation Chief Jeanine Baldhead.
Harry Paul of One Arrow First Nation, 21 at the time, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Gamble's death.
