Maria Lewis president of the Prince Rupert Royal Canadian Legion accepts a $5,000 donation gifted via an artillery shell from Shawn MacDonald governor of the Prince Rupert Loyal Order of the Moose 1051 on Nov. 13.

Major donation overwhelms Prince Rupert Legion

Prince Rupert Moose Lodge 1051 donates $5,000 to local veterans organization

  • Nov. 19, 2020 12:00 a.m.

A major donation of $5,000 was received by the Prince Rupert Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion on Nov. 13.

The gift was overwhelming for the Legion and left president Maria Lewis “speechless” she said.

“This is amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Lewis said MacDonald.

Shawn MacDonald governor of Moose Lodge 1051 said when the lodge heard about the reduction in poppy donations this year due to COVID-19 they couldn’t help but step up to assist with such a worthy cause. The money, he said can be used as the Legion sees fit and be put to where ever they need it to go.

“As we know COVID has slowed down everything we figured they could do with a hand and we talked about how we could help the Legion. It is for whatever they want it for. If they have a project coming up they can use it for that,” MacDonald said.

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Bar sales at the Moose are generating higher amounts, during the COVID-19 restrictions, for the lodge to donate MacDonald said.

“The funny thing is we are making more money with 36 people than we ever did when we were allowed 69 people.”

The reason for this MacDonald said, is because people are staying longer knowing they may not get back in if they leave and they are spending more during their time in the establishment.

MacDonald said that all of the community donations are generated from bar sales at the lodge because they take only 10 per cent of sales to cover costs. The rest is given back to the community in different areas he said like the $2,000 the Moose Lodge is donating to Roosevelt School’s breakfast program.

“Five thousand dollars is a lot of money. Our organization doesn’t request donations from anyone. We are the ones who receive requests from people. I’m speechless at this generosity,” Lewis said.

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K-J Millar | Journalist

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