Increased need and costs providing challenges for Barrie charities

While it may be the season of giving, local charities say this year, they're having a more challenging time meeting the goals of their holiday initiatives.

"We have a great community. They always turn out well. The money goal is a little slower than we'd like because it costs more this year than before," explained Steph Quenneville, the president of Barrie & District Christmas Cheer.

"We're not where we want to be from a target perspective. We've had great response in terms of food donations but we're looking for more financial donations at this point," said the Barrie Food Bank's Executive Director, Sharon Palmer.

Many charities have raised their goals this year to keep up with the increased need in the community. However, donors are also feeling the effects of inflation.

"Both on the donor side as well as the people who are looking for the support. So I've seen across the industry in the charitable sector that there has been a decrease in donations overall, and certainly, we're experiencing that as well," said Palmer.

"We've just reached the $225K mark in our fundraising on our $400K goal," said Quenneville.

 Barrie & District Christmas Cheer says that many of their donations typically come in a rush at the last minute. Still, they've already received some of their more significant acts of generosity. However, some people are donating their time instead.

"The community has really turned out in a lot of other ways. 1300 volunteers will be rolling through here this year. It's amazing how Barrie shows up for us but we really need to push hard into next week to try to get to that $400K goal," said Quenneville.

The Barrie food bank says they now support more than 7200 individuals per month.

"More than double what we were this time last year. We're just trying to keep up with that demand and hoping to be able to see ourselves into the new year with the support from the community," said Palmer.

This isn't just about the holiday season for organizations like the Food Bank. Donations help carry them well into next year, so they appreciate financial support, which doesn't have an expiry date.