Whenever four-year-old Sunjai Sharma steps out to sell chocolate bars to raise funds for the B.C. Children's Hospital, the wallets open wide.
It all started one day when his father, Rajinder, decided just for fun to grab a few of the bars sitting at a cashier's till at the Parkwood Save-On-Foods where he works, put them in his son's hands and step outside.
"We stood there for 20 minutes and we sold 30 chocolate bars," Rajinder said Wednesday. "It was pretty hard for anyone to say no."
Buoyed by that success, they've kept at it and since then, roughly 1,500 chocolate bars have been sold at $2 each, either by Sunjai directly or in his name. Add on the money they've raised by collecting beer cans and the total raised has reached $3,700 and is climbing.
The Sharmas have a close connection to B.C. Children's Hospital. When he was seven months old, Sunjai went through a two-hour surgery to relieve the pressure on his skull from his growing brain.
"The skull is in four pieces when you're born but his were joined so he was going to develop an odd-shaped head," Rajinder said.
Sunjai came out with 57 stitches under his hairline but has been doing well ever since.
Sunjai has enjoyed some rewards for his work. The store manager gave him a movie pass after that first effort and now they're going to an Edmonton Oilers game in the Alberta capital next week courtesy of Save-On-Foods.
He is also continuing to sell the chocolate bars while Rajinder has convinced a pizza restaurant and a gas station in College Heights to also sell the items on Sunjai's behalf.
"It's not all him going door-to-door but because he's doing it, people will help me," Rajinder said.
Sunjai was a little shy when he visited The Citizen on Wednesday but he had his pitch down pat, remembering to say how much the bars cost and where the money is going.
The amount raised through Save-On-Foods stores across the province will be presented to B.C. Children's Hospital during its annual telethon over the May 31-June 1 weekend.
