Miles Phillips spent his life giving to the community, and now a friend is hoping the community will give back to the Phillips's family.
Phillips, who worked or volunteered with countless community organizations, died in a car accident in January, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters. Family friend Chad Rutherford has created a fund on the website YouCaring.com to help the family cope.
"When somebody passes like that, the bills don't stop coming, and there's a big loss of income," he noted.
Phillips was involved in various capacities with the West Coast Men's Support Society, Cowichan Energy Alternatives, Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op, Greasecycle, Inc., The Mankind Project, Volunteer Cowichan, and the BC Biofuel Network, to name a few. Even his friends didn't realize how committed he was to the community.
"I didn't know until he passed away the extent to which he was involved in the community," Rutherford said.
Unfortunately, his dedication to non-profits and environmental organizations wasn't a financial boon.
"That's a whole life of giving back, and not a money-making proposition," Rutherford said.
The fund Rutherford set up is designed to help Phillips's wife, Angela Marston, and daughters Jasmin, 15, and Autumn, 12.
Miles and Angela were "quintessential best friends," Rutherford said, and he was an "unreal father" to the girls.
"He was a fantastic guy, a fantastic father, and a super nice guy to be around," Rutherford stated.
To support the fundraiser, visit www.YouCaring.com and type Phillips's name into the search bar.