Athol Gow of Elora and Jason Thompson of Fergus are just two fundraising guys making a difference in the community.
“Our goal is twofold: to create unique food and drink experiences that we’d like to go to, with the purpose of giving back to our community”, Gow explains.
The pair organized two local fundraisers and they don’t anticipate stopping any time soon.
The Craft Brew Rendezvous, held last October was their first event – a bus tour of local craft beer breweries in the Centre Wellington-Guelph area.
The event raised $500 for the Centre Wellington Community Foundation.
Next came the Alt-Burns Supper, held at the Shepherd’s Pub in Elora in January 2015.
The event raised another $500, which Gow and Thompson also donated to the Centre Wellington Community Foundation (CWCF).
Thomson said, “When it comes to fundraising, we are focused on ‘Think Locally, Give Locally.’
“The CW Community Foundation is a young organization that is supporting some great local grassroots community initiatives through their mini-grant program. Both Athol and I like that aspect of the organization.”
Examples of mini-grants involve supporting a salad bar program at JD Hogarth, a ukulele music program at John Black, a cultural/historical monument in Fergus, Let Kids Play program that provides sporting opportunities and the Elora Art Walk to name a few.
The Centre Wellington Community Foundation is a local volunteer organization that is committed to community philanthropy.
This year CWCF is coordinating a local Vital Signs campaign. Vital Signs is a community check-up resulting in a comprehensive, reader-friendly report highlighting how our community is faring in key quality-of-life areas.
Learn more about Vital Signs at http://www.vitalsignscanada.ca
Gow and Thompson have earmarked their CWCF $1,000 donation to go toward the Vital Signs campaign which they feel represents the start of a conversation to help determine gaps and needs in the community which will help organizations like CWCF focus their priorities and giving.
To get onto the email list for upcoming events by Gow and Thompson, contact agow@uoguelph.ca and/or jason.thompson@uoguelph.ca
