THUNDER BAY—With limited funding, the Dew Drop Inn does its best to make do with what it has, but a local restaurant offered a helping hand with a month-long fundraiser that ended in a cheque presentation.
After selling close to 300 specialty hamburgers, The Social on Dawson Road presented the Dew Drop Inn soup kitchen with a cheque for $5,000.
Theresa Stewart, owner of The Social, said the fundraiser was driven by supporting the community.
"I just felt like it was nice to do something back for the community. I know the Dew Drop Inn does amazing work. They work very, very hard to help feed people, and that's kind of what we do here, too, is feed people."
Stewart said $4 from every burger sale went into the pot for the soup kitchen, along with other local businesses that supported the restaurant by donating some of the food used for the burgers and others offering cash donations.
Michael Quibell, Dew Drop Inn executive director, said the soup kitchen relies on community support.
"So the bottom line is we could not offer a good meal daily without the support. We really depend on it and rely on it, and the support from the community has been amazing. We totally appreciate everyone that was involved with The Social and all other community agencies that support us and help us."
Quibell said this cash will likely help make upwards of 2,000 meals, especially considering it's been busier this year.
"March this year has been considerably more busy than last year. We've done 4,000 more meals for the same time period for this year than over last year. So it was very busy."
More information about where to make donations can be found on the Dew Drop Inn's website.
