Photo by Sabrina Romano

Becky Coger (left) reacts to receiving a new truck Thursday, Jan. 29 at the Priory Hotel in Historic Deutschtown. The Northside Leadership Conference held a fundraiser in which over 130 people donated.

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By Sabrina Romano

After Becky Coger’s car was totaled in a hit-and-run last October, she didn’t expect the community to help her buy a new one. But that is exactly what happened.

After raising $10,000 through cash and checks from 130 donors, The Northside Leadership Conference (NSLC) presented Ms. Becky, as she’s affectionately called, a community gardener and activist, with a new Dodge Ram on Thursday, Jan. 29 at the Priory Hotel in Historic Deutschtown..

Mark Fatla, the executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference, said community members approached him about setting up a fundraiser.

“(Community members) called us and said, ‘We’ve got to help Ms. Becky get a truck to replace the one that was destroyed,’ ” Fatla said. “We set up an account. We got the word out and we collected the donation form over 130 different donors.”

Because of her new truck, Ms. Becky will be able to continue her charitable work for the community.

“Number one it is for transporting flowers and tools and supplies,” Ms. Becky said. “Or if people want to move a refrigerator, I have done that in the past.”

Ms. Becky said she was surprised that people wanted to raise money to get her a new truck.

“I didn’t realize that people had noticed what work I had done in the neighborhood. I certainly wasn’t doing it for a reward,” Ms. Becky said. “I guess when you do good things, people notice.”

Judy Robertson, a resident of North Hills, donated to the fundraiser after seeing an ad in a local newspaper.

“I am delighted, particularly being a former Northsider, about how much she has done for the community,” Robertson said.

Fatla added: “Despite the rain and the snow and the ice, it’s a beautiful day in the Northside.”