Food Bank End of 2017 Community Thank You

Jan 6, 2018 @ 08:32

Wawa Community Food Bank volunteers wish to thank the many individuals, organizations, corporations and businesses in this remarkably generous town. We have been receiving donations from mid- November 2017 right into this first week of January 2018. All monetary contributions of any size are valued and each personal or food item is appreciated.

Feed The Need, our major annual fundraiser was held on Sunday, November 26. Many thanks to the talented adults and youth who entertained throughout the afternoon:  Paul Bernath, Louis Dereski and Jeanette Pike for their instrumental and vocal performance;  Kaireen Morrison and Matthew Schumacher for their piano presentations;  Pastor Clinton Moody for his musical contribution; and an audience favourite,  the Defined Movement  Dancers, choreographed by Mirinda Patterson, Christine Rask and Samantha Stewart.

Thank you as well to the Calvary Church volunteers and the dance group for the assistance in tallying, organizing and boxing the donated food items. The Ministry of Natural Resources, including Smokey The Bear, provided a supportive presence as well as contributing their in-house collection of canned goods.

Our local media provided excellent promotion for Feed The Need. Thank you to JJAM FM for on-air publicity and interviews prior to the event, to Algoma News Review for publishing our articles and donating a large advertisement which ran for several weeks and to wawa-news.com for publishing our articles and supplying timely reminders and current coverage of the event. We also thank the local Lions Club and Mr. Vallee Park group for sponsoring live, on-air radio advertising at the event.

Once again our business sponsors made the occasion possible. Sincere thanks to SUBWAY, John’s Valu Mart and Tim Hortons for offering food and beverages to all participants and community members who brought donations.  In addition, we thank AJ’s Pizza, Canadian Tire and Wawa RV Resort and Campground for providing door prizes.  The winners of the prizes this year were Tracy Amos, Kevin Auger, Jo Ann De Vries, River Gillespie, Bianca Hyrhorchuk, Clinton Moody and Melanie Stone.

Many individuals have supported the Community Food Bank over this interval of November through January with financial donations, food, clothing or personal items.  Heartfelt thanks go to a long list of generous people: Fern Albert, Mike Allemano, Kathy Bishop, Everett and Sharon Boucher, Jim Burni, Brenda Carson, Liz Talian-Clarke, Marny and Mike Chauvin, Joel Cooper, Barb Fischer, Julian Gagnon, Brenda Grundt, Steve Haney, Leo and Pat Lavoie, Isabel Lawson, Lorne Leclair, Mary Lesperance, Tex Luoma, Marilyn McKenna, Beverly McLaughlin, Marin Poldmaa –Rask, family of Dave Robertson, Isabel Ruiz, Andrew Schroeder, the Stewart family, Susan and Terry Switzer, Huguette Szekely, Betsabel Bello-Thibodeau and Richard Thibodeau.

We also recognize the many people who have contributed to the designated cart at Valu Mart or have left items in the donation bin inside the main doors of 96 Broadway Avenue.

Businesses, corporations, and institutions have also supported our efforts. Our gratitude is extended to a local business wishing to remain anonymous, Algoma Health Unit, CUPE Local 3631, Hawk Air, Iris Place, Gilmartin Funeral Home, Michipicoten First Nation, Rotary Club of Wawa, Saint Paul’s Anglican Church for both a financial donation as well as baking supplies, Wawa Christmas Hamper, Wawa Ice Fishing Derby, wawa-news.com, and Wesdome Mines.

Naturally Superior Adventures, with David Wells and Judy Page, have been longtime supporters of our local food bank through the collection of monetary and non-perishable donations at musical events through the summer and fall and at an end of season dinner.  Thank you so much for your continued advocacy.

Our clients have also benefitted from the collection of Dress Down funds. Many thanks go to both the Municipal Staff and to the staff of Lady Dunn Health Centre, organized by Chantalle Parise, for choosing our group this year for your donation.

Both Ecole Saint Joseph and Michipicoten High School conducted Christmas food drives which provided many boxes of canned goods for our shelves. Our gratitude is extended to the staff and students for this thoughtful endeavour.

To any contributor we may have missed in this long thank you list, we sincerely apologize.

The town of Wawa has again shown its concern for the less fortunate among us. The effects of this bitterly cold winter will be somewhat alleviated through the generosity of so many kind people.

Wawa Community Food Bank
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