The generosity of the Cornwall community is amazing and it isn’t even December yet.
As we get into the Christmas season, I wanted to share a few stories on the difference that charity and volunteering make in Cornwall. You might not see everyone in Cornwall who is making a difference. They might be your neighbours who help out at the Agapè Centre soup kitchen, or they might do their part by contributing to the many worthy causes in Cornwall.
In the past few weeks there have been a few major fundraisers held in support of the Cornwall Community Hospital Foundation (CCHF), the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the annual Hospice Telethon.
I would estimate, that these three events combined probably resulted in over $250,000 in donations from the Cornwall community towards worthy causes.
On Nov. 23, another major charity event will be taking place at the Nav Centre, the annual United Way Wine & Cheese.
The United Way does a lot in our community that goes unseen. They support Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Cornwall and the Boys and Girls Club so that kids get a chance to have a real childhood and grow. The United Way also supports Meals on Wheels, ensuring that our seniors are sustained with healthy wholesome meals. The United Way supports Counselling and Support Services, which ensures that those of us who are going through difficulties in life, have support when they need it.
The United Way supports 14 services and agencies in Cornwall and SD&G and without them, our community would be much poorer. The United Way is able to do all of this through community support. So many people would be worse off without these 14 organizations in the community, and they in turn rely on the United Way, and the United Way relies on us.
The Cornwall community raises hundreds of thousands every year that goes towards local charities. Equally and sometimes more important however, are the volunteer hours that members of the community donate to make these events and others happen.
We are just a few days away from the annual Santa Claus parade in Cornwall, an event that relies heavily on volunteers.
We are also on the brink of the start of the Sparky’s Toy Drive, and the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign.
Again, these events would not be possible without volunteers.
This community gives so much, and should be proud of that, however, if someone is reading this, and has not volunteered this year, maybe think about putting yourself out there.
Many times, I see many familiar faces at these events. There is a strong core group of volunteers in Cornwall who make these events happen, primarily, they are service club members. What I’m asking is that if someone sees an event or organization in town that they feel strongly about, that they would not want to see disappear, then why not volunteer for them, even if it is only a couple of hours once a year.
We are on a verge of the season of giving, let’s not forget to thank the givers.
What do you think readers? Have a story of local volunteerism you’d like to share? Email it to be published as a Letter to the Editor at nseebruch@seawaynews.media
