CollingwoodToday, readers and local businesses raise $3,000 for Salvation Army Food Bank

In response to rising food costs and the increased use of food banks during the COVID-19 pandemic, last week, we asked you, our loyal readers, to help us support the Salvation Army with an online food drive.

The holidays can be a particularly stressful time for all of us, but especially for those in need. The added strain on our local food bank means it needs extra support from caring community members to ensure that no one in our city goes without.

With this in mind, CollingwoodToday embarked on a campaign to raise much-needed funds for our local food bank.

The campaign was simple. We secured gift cards donated by Sobeys Collingwood and asked our readers to purchase the gift cards at $25 apiece through our online pop-up store, to be donated to the local food bank.

CollingwoodToday would then match the $25 purchase price to double the donation. 

But that’s not all. 

We were able to leverage the power of our community to make the donations even bigger by asking our local business partners to match our donation. 

Caretakers Housekeeping Services, Collingwood Toyota, Crozier & Associates Consulting Engineers, Greg Syrota of Century 21 Millennium Collingwood, Marcia Alderson Broker at The CK Team Real Estate Group and Stuart Ellis Pharmacy, who generously topped their donation from $375 to $500, all answered the call.

With their support and yours, for each gift card purchased in our pop-up store, every dollar was matched seven times with all proceeds going directly to the Salvation Army.

In Collingwood, the generosity of our readers and advertisers was translated into a donation of $3,000 for the food bank.

Thank you for helping us to strengthen our community and make the holiday season a bit brighter here in Collingwood.