Fredericton — A local man is reaching out in support of keeping Target in Canada.
Recently retired Daniel Bullinks was absolutely devastated when the news of Target pulling out of Canada made headlines early Thursday morning. Bullinks quickly gathered a large group of friends for a rally of support outside the Target located on Prospect Street.
“The news put me in a complete daze. I was reading up on the CBC headliners during breakfast, when I came across the article about the company filing for creditor protection. I just couldn’t believe that New Brunswick failed our beloved Target stores.”
Bullinks was quick to act on the matter. Within 2 hours, he and several retiree friends were outside the store with megaphones, posters and even pamphlets advertising an online funding campaign.
Bullinks and his fellow activists — calling themselves “The Target Crusaders” — have created a page on popular fundraising website GoFundMe, where individuals can create and share their own fundraising efforts.
“It’s a great tool for reaching out to people who are uninformed,” explained Bullinks. “Social stuff like this works. We need to fight for our right to consumerism, specifically our right to an upscale Walmart. I don’t even get why those guys are still around, while we have to fight to keep Target here.”
While members of the rally were enthusiastic and spirited, they were met with a confused reception from Target shoppers, employees and onlookers.
“I’m sort of confused,” one shopper stated, coming out of the store with a lovely fleece shirt. “It sucks because I think Target is cool, but I don’t know if this is a really plausible cause.”
“These guys are idiots,” stated an anonymous Target employee on their smoke break. “I want my 6 weeks of pay without having to do any work.”
While support seems slightly absent, Bullinks is confident Frederictonians will see the light and support their local Target store. Currently, The Target Crusaders have reached $60 of their $2.5 million goal. Bullinks says he decided on this amount because it felt like a great number to aim for.
“I see this thing really picking up. We’ve got the will to push this on to be a bigger movement; I think we’ll tackle the Legislature next week. Once the word gets out about Target closing and that there’s a group fighting to keep them in Fredericton, we’ll reach that goal in no time.”
Target Canada spokesperson Alfred Tyson informed The Manatee that it would consider charitable donations.
“These guys are really fighting for the Target brand, and we appreciate that. They want to keep the brand alive in their Canadian city. Target aims to fully support local initiatives.”