THUNDER BAY — The Dew Drop Inn has big plans for the $1,700 donation it received on Tuesday.
Approximately 150 people attended the Feast on Fire Charity Barbecue Lunch Date with Friends to raise funds for the local not-for-profit kitchen on Friday.
“We are very grateful. When CSL indicated that they are going to do a barbecue for us, we thought, wow this is really great,” said Michael Quibell, the executive director for Dew Drop Inn.
CSL Environmental and Geotechnical organized the charity barbecue outside their location on Russell Street, accepting donations in lieu of payment.
“The barbecue itself raised almost $850 from our friends and colleagues, and then our management team at CSL decided to match it, so we doubled what we fundraised at the barbecue,” he said.
Expecting a high volume of customers, CSL went all out for the barbecue, Quibell said.
“It was quite the barbecue, it had a tent, tables, and everything. They really went all out for this barbecue, so we really appreciate their efforts, the amount of TLC that went into this,” he said.
With an average cost of $3, the money raised from the summertime barbecue will provide approximately 566 meals, Quibell said.
“That is just something that we like to do. We are from this community, we live here and we want to make sure it is a place we can call home and help where we can,” said CSL president Chris Perusse.
Previous fundraising inspired CSL to expand its community services further, Perusse said.
“We saw the need, and we have worked with the Shelter House previous to this, and we feel this is a really good place for our efforts,” he said.
With a successful turnout, Perusse said barbecue will likely happen again.
“We would like to keep this an annual tradition,” he said.
“What necessarily the money goes to might change from summer to summer, but it is definitely an important thing to find ways to give back. And it is something that is just fun to do.”
To continue raising funds throughout the summer, Dew Drop Inn will host four additional barbecues until the beginning of September in support of their Everyone Deserves a Good Meal campaign.
“This is how we serve that good meal every day, and basically we could not do without that support,” Quibell said.
Anyone looking for more information on St Andrew’s Dew Drop Inn can find it on their website.
