Area restaurants accepting cash and snowsuits
By Dinah Clarkson
A new partnership between McDonald’s and The Snowsuit Fund should make a few little bodies warmer this winter.
Within the last two weeks, McDonald’s joined the fund’s corporate sponsors. Snow-suits and cash can now be dropped off at Ottawa’s 21 McDonald’s restaurants.
Alan Sevigny, The Snowsuit Fund’s fund-raising co-chair, says he’s optimistic about the year ahead.
“Until we go through a campaign with (McDonald’s) we won’t know how much this will mean to us as far as money,” he says. “But we think it will be quite positive.”
The Snowsuit Fund, an Ottawa-Carleton based charitable organization, raises money for the purchase and distribution of snowsuits to needy children 13 and younger. Last year, 13,000 snowsuits were distributed. Needs for this year look to be similar: estimates lie at 13,000 to 14,000.
Last year’s financial goal was $700,000 — the same as the goal for this year. Eliza-beth Rolston-Trimm, the fund’s administrator, guesses that so far they’re at about $200,000. While she says she thinks they were that far along in their goal last November, this time she doesn’t anticipate falling behind.
Rolston-Trimm says this fall’s fund-raisers have done extremely well.
“Last year we didn’t meet our goal — we were short about $90,000… but maybe this is our year,” says Rolston-Trimm.
Because of its many sponsors, including Loeb, The Ottawa Citizen and Canadian Tire, the fund is the beneficiary of many locally run activities and events.
Last weekend’s Radiothon brought together five local stations who collectively raised $15,000. A gala held at the Ottawa Congress Centre at the end of October raised money through auctions.
Rolston-Trimm says she thinks McDonald’s addition to the list of sponsors will help boost finances even higher this winter.
Sevigny says McDonald’s is a worthy sponsor.
“They really like to help charities geared towards children.”
Natalie Levesque, a volunteer at The Snowsuit Fund, says she is optimistic about the current fundraising drive.
“I think it’s going to be a good year. A lot of people are starting to come in and so far we’ve been able to meet demands,” she says.
The Snowsuit Fund’s next fundraiser is an evening at Barrymore’s presented by the Ottawa Blues Society.
Vann “Piano Man” Walls, a renowned blues pianist, will headline the show Dec. 4.