Innisfil Lions Club makes Christmas contributions, including to Barrie & District Christmas Cheer
With the clock ticking Barrie & District Christmas Cheer got a big boost to support its mission in South Simcoe.
On Tuesday evening, the Innisfil Lions Club donated $1000 to the toy fundraiser. The cheque presentation took place at the legion hall on Tuesday, with all that money direly needed as Barrie & District Christmas Cheer is only about 25 per cent of the way to reaching its overall fundraising goal.
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"Tonight is incredibly important. The next few nights are incredibly important," said Sandra Yaquo, the vice-president of the charity. "We are less than three weeks out from our distribution and we are less than a quarter of the way towards reaching our goal, so we have a long way to go and we can use all the help we can get."
This year, the campaign has raised its goal to $400,000 as it works to help about 1,750 families get Christmas gifts under the tree.
The fundraising total was raised due to increased costs of living impacting everyone.
"Everybody deserves to have a Christmas. That's what we're here for," said Alison Jacks, the president of the Innisfil Lions Club. "We're lucky enough to be members of the Lions Club and have this great hall, which allows us to do fundraising, and Innisfil is a great community. We take care of our own, and at Christmas, no child should go without something special on Christmas day."
The Innisfil Lions Club donated $1000 each to another four local charities as part of the group's annual Christmas contributions.
The campaign especially needs gifts for kids between 8 and 10. Donations can be dropped off at its warehouse, or contributions can be made https://christmascheerbarrie.com/.
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