THUNDER BAY – Charitable organizations rely on donations to continue to help those in need, and while even the smallest of contributions can make a big difference, when a donation comes in worth thousands of dollars, it provides comfort in knowing no one will go without something to eat or a roof over their head.
The Empty Bowls, Caring Hearts presented $24,000 to two local charities on Wednesday, with $12,000 going toward the Thunder Bay Food Bank and $12,000 going to the Thunder Bay Shelter House.
“It takes some of the worry away when we get donations of this amount,” said Amber Prairie, development officer with Thunder Bay Shelter House.
“We are always in need and we are gearing up for our Christmas season and that is when we really need the support for the season, but this is a great kick off for our Christmas campaign and the season. We want to make sure we can give the gift of food, shelter, safety, and hope to all of our residents.”
The money was raised through the Empty Bowls, Caring Hearts annual dinner held in October and a chili cook-off held on Family Day.
Tanis Webster, chair of Empty Bowls, Caring Hearts, said the amount raised is on par with past years and everyone involved is very pleased to donate the money to two organizations dedicated to helping people in Thunder Bay.
“It’s fantastic,” she said. “We are really happy with our results this year. It’s important for us to give back to the community so this is our way of doing that. We know the need is very great in Thunder Bay and we are pleased we are able to offer this amount of money to both charities.”
The money will be used to provide food for the more than 700 clients Shelter House serves every day, as well as operating costs for the more than 60 people the shelter houses every night. Prairie said any kind of donation goes a long way, but especially at this time of year.
“Around Christmas we have more people in our shelter, more people coming to eat, so we need more funds and we need more things to provide the best service and support we can to the people who live in poverty and homelessness,” she said. “Funds or donations of food, mitts, or coats are really important because people are living out in the cold.”
For the Thunder Bay Food Bank, the $12,000 donation constitutes a large part of its yearly operating budget of $90,000.
“I can’t say enough about how amazed I am at how much work these volunteers do for charities like ours,” said Reino Pitkanen, chair of the Thunder Bay Food Bank. “We are very pleased.”
The money will primarily be used for food purchases, but Pitkanen said $2,000 will be diverted toward purchasing a walk-in freezer. The freezer costs approximately $30,000 and the Food Bank is still $10,000 short, but Pitkanen said it is crucial for the Food Bank to be able to provide healthy food options for people in need.
“Anybody and everybody that can help out, we would really appreciate it,” he said. “It allows us to provide fresh produce and frozen food that we can’t provide now to our clients and it’s an important part of their diet.”
