Anonymous donations support Friends of Cedar Bay, encourage community fundraising
Reeti Meenakshi Rohilla - Staff Writer
Contributing to enrich one of their most relished facilities, two local families have made anonymous donations to Friends of Cedar Bay, totaling $6000, spearheading some community fundraising.
“I cannot emphasize enough how lucky we are that individuals and families want to support us,” shared Friends of Cedar Bay Treasurer Myriam Bernier. She added, “COVID-19 has definitely impacted our ability to do our usual fundraising and our usual activities that we set up for the community. However, it gave us the time to focus on bigger projects.”
The two families made donations of $5000 and $1000 respectively, with one family challenging community members to match their $1000 donation. Bernier shared, “We have not set a time span for this challenge. We posted about the fundraiser at the beginning of May, and will let it run until we reach our goal. You can keep track of our progress on the website!” Donations can be made via the Friends of Cedar Bay website at https://cedarbay.org/?page_id=1525.
Bernier shared that donors have the option to choose a specific project, activity, event, materials, etc. that they would like to contribute towards. She added that the $5000 donation is non-specific, allowing them to use it for any program they see needful. Friends of Cedar Bay shared on their Facebook page that the $1000 donation, and funds raised from the following community challenge, will be used to enhance the Cozy Cabin experience.
“This is nothing compared to the work that Friends of Cedar Bay are doing. We are incredibly thankful for the volunteers and all the work they do to keep Cedar Bay open,” shared one family. The other added, “We appreciate all the efforts from so many community volunteers over 40 years at Cedar Bay and specifically all the free activities held at the Cozy Cabin!”
Some other projects that Friends of Cedar Bay plan to use the donations towards include, the construction of a latrine/outhouse, Forest Therapy Project, barn maintenance, equine programming, equine equipment, and lakeshore programming, among others, shared Bernier.
“Friends of Cedar Bay’s ability to do events and projects is only possible because of the tireless efforts of our volunteers and the support of community members. To have a community come together to support outdoor recreation in our town is amazing! Thank you so much everyone! If you have an itch for volunteering, we have multiple opportunities anywhere from event planning to shoveling, just get in touch!” shared Bernier.
The Municipality of Sioux Lookout’s Sports Tourism Strategy document for the year 2020 states that facilities like the riding stable and Cedar Bay get a lot of in-kind contributions from volunteers, as well as through fundraising by organizations like Friends of Cedar Bay. It adds, “Partnership that utilize Volunteerism, such as Friends of Cedar Bay and Nordic Nomads will help with social, environmental and infrastructure issues while reducing costs to the Municipality. Volunteer organizations increase Sioux Lookout’s capacity in recreation and tourism and making a higher standard of living within the community.”
