NEW GLASGOW
A society committed to opening a permanent homeless shelter in the county is hopeful its fundraising goal can be met by the end of the month.
Karen MacPhee, chair of Viola’s Place Society, said Friday that it has $13,000 to raise by the end of April but as word continues to spread about their need more and more businesses and people are stepping up to help.
“Local businesses are offering assistance and the messages we have received are Canada-wide,” she said. “It’s not just local people helping, it’s people that used to live here and are getting the messages through Facebook.”
She said Michelin has been strong in its support of their cause and local churches are very generous while some businesses have held their own fundraisers for the shelter. Donations can be made at any Scotiabank in the county.
MacPhee said she feels she recently presented a solid operating plan to New Glasgow town council and will be sending out the same proposals to Stellarton, Westville, Trenton and Pictou within the next few days. The Municipality of Pictou County has already committed $8,000 to the purchase of the building, but the other councils requested a more detailed operating plan before they committed their own funding.
She said plenty of research has been done over the months, including speaking to the shelters across the province and sourcing out funding options. She is also confident a yearly fundraiser called Ride for Refuge will also be hosted in the fall for the shelter which will go a long way to helping with its operational expenses.
“Councils wanted a plan first and I understand that,” MacPhee said. “I wanted to see where all our funding streams were coming from before I presented them with anything. We wanted to be responsible in what we provided.”
She said the society has been working tirelessly to get the $60,000 together to purchase the building so it can have a foundation to build on.
Cathy Munro is paying it forward by spearheading a fundraising campaign for a new homeless shelter.
As owner of Bramble Hill Farms, Munro said she recently attended a Game Changers event at the deCoste Entertainment Centre and came out “fired up” to find ways to connect her business with the needs in the community.
“As a mall business owner, I feel empowered to help make change,” she said. “I have great gratitude for the community that supports and is building my business. In whatever way I can help, I want to give back to our community.”
Munro came up with the idea to start a gofundme page to raise funds for Viola’s Place Society that is trying to raise the funds to open a homeless shelter in the former Life Shelter building in New Glasgow.
For each donation made, she will create a thank-you with a small token of appreciation from my farm to your plate. On May 27, people who donated to the cause through the gofundme page, are invited to come out to the farm and pick up a thank you package which will include: a bag of fresh and tasty pea shoots from Bramble Hill Farm, coupons from King of Cups, a small original salad dressing from Our Turn to Cook and a booklet with info and the story of Viola's Place and then some great recipes printed by Advocate Printing to enjoy the pea shoots!
https://www.gofundme.com/violas-place-a-shelter-for-pictou-co
