GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - This time of year we all love to pitch in and help out anyone we can, whether it's helping a family get a dinner on their table or presents under their tree.

But one donation jar in the Grand Valley is set up for a local resident who is usually the one volunteering and giving back.

Employees at the Safeway on Patterson and 29 Road set out a donation jar to help out a fellow coworker, and you might recognize the face on the jar.

Mark Ervin got a lot of attention when he raised more than $21,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the past three years by sitting in a shopping cart for days.

Ervin has given back to the community in a number of ways and is now asking for your help.

In May, doctors found a tear in Ervin's wife stomach, leaving her with a lot of pain and hefty medical bills.

“The medical bills are around $500,000; that's right now. When we go to University Hospital in Denver, it's hard telling what they're going to be," said Ervin.

The donation jar has been out for two weeks and already brought in around $500.

The jar will be out throughout January, so you still have time to stop in and donate.

Mindi Ervin's surgery is set for Jan. 7.