Today is giving Tuesday, (Nov 30th) a day to donate to charities after all of the shopping that follows American Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in North America.
A few organizations that are holding fundraisers include the YMCA of Owen Sound Grey Bruce, which is welcoming donations. CEO Sarah Cowley says in a statement, “Despite a challenging year, over 2,800 people of all ages were active at our Health, Fitness and Aquatics facility, with 11% of those people relying on financial assistance to be there; 124 children were supported through our Emergency Child Care program, allowing their parents to continue working on the frontlines; 8,029 nights of emergency shelter were provided for vulnerable individuals in Grey Bruce.” You can donate online at ymcaowensound.on.ca/donate or make out a cheque payable to the Owen Sound Family YMCA.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) says today, all gifts to the NCC will be matched, meaning people can double their donations towards efforts that protect some of Canada’s most sensitive habitats.
Owen Sound’s long-running folk music and craft festival Summerfolk is holding a tie-dye fundraising challenge. Its goal is to raise $5,000 for the festival’s Endowment Fund with Community Foundation Grey Bruce. It helps to ensure a more stable and reliable income stream for the festival. If $5,000 is raised, Artistic Director James Keelaghan will have to wear tie-dye which is a pattern he detests.
Community Foundation Grey Bruce is accepting donations. It has a number of different ways to donate, including endowment funds, flow through funds and community funds. The foundation has a long list of local funds you can donate to covering a wide variety of efforts. They include education and scholarship funds, art and music funds, healthcare funds, funds for local sports, warm winter clothes for kids, supporting in-need seniors, local job creation and more. To learn more, go to https://www.communityfoundationgreybruce.com/
The United Way of Bruce Grey also has a number of programs you can donate to. It is calling today “Grati-Tuesday” and thanking the community for the support it has shown throughout the pandemic. Those who would like to donate can go online to Canada Helps at www.DonateToday.ca. On Giving Tuesday, Canada Helps will add $2 to every financial gift of $20 or more. Donations to the United Way of Bruce Grey are also accepted by phone at 519-376-1560 or in person or by mail at: United Way of Bruce Grey, 380 9th Street East, Owen Sound, ON N4K 1P1.
Meanwhile, local food banks like the Salvation Army and OSHaRE have also reported increases in usage over the past 18 months, with OSHaRE serving about 9,000 meals a month since the pandemic began, and a greater increase in August (10,000 meals) and 11,000 meals in September.