This year’s Toonies for Tummies fundraiser was a success, bringing in nearly $5,000 in cash, gift cards, appliances and kitchenware for Clearwater Secondary School’s (CSS) cafeteria and breakfast program.
The fundraiser, which happened in February, took place at Buy-Low with partnership from the Breakfast Club of Canada.
“It’s great because I think there’s a big need in the valley right now, we’ve had the economic downturn from the closure of Canfor, and now we have people losing income to COVID-19, which has effected tourism businesses locally,” said Darren Coates, CSS principal.
“I think we’re going to see a need in the community come September. We can help out kids and provide some food when they come to school so we’re super happy to have the funding to be able to do that and support kids.”
The school gained funding for next year’s breakfast program with $2400 in gift cards for Buy-Low, $1,200 in cash, 50 sets of plates, bowls, cups, cutlery and a new stove worth $750as well as a $500 contribution towards the purchase of a commercial dishwasher.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the fundraiser, though, as some miscommunication within the Breakfast Club of Canada caused a bit of a delay, but in the end, the situation was straightened out.
“Glenn (Hyokki) who was the manager (at Buy-Low) up until recently was really instrumental,” said Coates.
“The fundraiser happened and we hadn’t seen dollars in quite a while, so I was talking to Glenn, saying, ‘Hey what’s happening?’ and he really beat the bushes and tried to find out where the money had gone and why it hadn’t come back to the community it was raised in.”
Hyokki enquired several times as to where the funds went and it turned out there was some sort of oversight connecting the school with the money, but it the end the school received the donations and then some.
Coates noted he believes the original funds raised by the community were leveraged somehow because the amount CSS is receiving seems greater than what likely would have been raised locally.
“It’s great. Like I said, there’s a need in the community with the economic downturn. I think families are struggling with income,” Coates added.
“The community is struggling because of the Canfor shutdown and the loss of employment, so it feels good we’re able to provide that kind of support to kids and families.”
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