By Pepper Parr
August 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It is coming together. It’s taking a little longer than many people had hoped but it looks as if they are going to do it right – right from the get go.
There will be a media release on Wednesday announcing who the chair is going to be along with additional information on just what the local Disaster Relief Committee can do and can’t do.
Colleen Mulholland,BCF president, is stick handling the biggest project her organization has been asked to do. They are going to give her a T-shirt.
On the following Wednesday, September 3, there will be a Roll Out event at a location in the east end where the full program will be explained along with the procedures people need to follow.
While the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) has not yet announced a theme, based on the words BCF President Colleen Mulholland uses continually “Above and Beyond” just might be the call.
“This is a huge problem and there are hundreds of people who are hurting – hurting badly” explained Mulholland who is getting by on around four hours of sleep each night.
She is pumped over the size of the challenge and is stretching her team to the limit.
The BCF has encountered a number of desperate situations where they have had to dip into their own coffers to help out.
Their Annual Golf Tournament, being held September 4th, will be asking people to dig deep into those pockets.
A “portal” is being set up on the BCF web site that will have all the forms; all the details and answers to all the questions they think people will be asking.
That team leading this event are covering all the bases. There will be T-shirts for volunteers to wear; there will be coin boxes at every possible retail location. Great opportunity for the Burlington Downtown Business Association to show what they can do – and hopefully both malls are on board as well as all the supermarkets.
This stuff works – but you have to work to make I happen.
Sandra Baker on the left talks with Burlington Community Foundation president Colleen Mulholland during days when things were not nearly as hectic.
On Friday – donations sent via the United Way collection point were at $140,000 but come Monday morning there was just $141,600.00
More is needed – that Above and Beyond call to action is vital.
In the very near future major donations will begin to flow in – but this is a grass roots effort – this is community helping community. We too are Samaritans – or we can be if we choose to do be.
