A group of local community members spent some time in the “slammer” on the weekend, all for a good cause.
A “Bail or Jail” fundraiser was held near the front entrance of the Sobeys store in Amherstburg last Saturday with seven people “locked up” in the temporary cell until they could raise $500.
All proceeds from the event will go to the food bank operated by Amherstburg Community Services (ACS).
It was presented by CKRT Border City Radio, in conjunction with Sobeys Amherstburg.
Among those locked up were CKRT station manager and on-air host Paul “P.D.” Desjardins, ACS executive director Kathy DiBartolomeo, Rick Gravel from Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), Remax realtor John D’Alimonte, psychic Bella Silva Cacilhas, and Sobeys franchise owners Rick and Krista Truant.
“I think it’s very exciting and it’s fun,” said DiBartolomeo. “It’s just a great way to raise money for our food bank.”
There are an increased number of people accessing the food bank services at ACS, DiBartolomeo added.
“We are actually seeing a higher demand,” she said. “It’s understandable. People want to use their money for Christmas.”
The food bank is open to the public at Amherstburg Community Services from 9 a.m.-12 noon Monday through Friday.
“It’s nice to get the radio station, Sobeys and so many community partners together,” added DiBartolomeo.
CKRT owner/CEO Donna Tuckwell said the fundraiser went well.“People have been having fun with it,” said Tuckwell.
Tuckwell added the event raised approximately $4,025 for the ACS food bank. She is also a member of ACS’ board of directors and worked with Rick and Krista Truant to plan the “Bail or Jail” event.
“Between Krista and I, we said ‘what about this’ and ‘what about that’ and this is what came out of it,” said Tuckwell.
The cell was constructed by Roger Faubert, Tuckwell added, noting her husband Dan was also instrumental in setting it up in the store the night before.
CKRT Border City Radio also thanked the OPP and the Windsor Police Service – Amherstburg Detachment for assisting with the event in both Harrow and Amherstburg.
“A big shoutout to Constable Nick Dupuis from Windsor Police, OPP Constable Chris Ciliska, and OPP Constable Wendy Desjardins for helping us with the arrests,” she said. “We’re incredibly grateful to Rick and Krista for letting us set up a jail cell right in the middle of Sobeys and for always supporting our crazy ideas.”
Tuckwell also thanked those who had fun being “arrested” for the cause.
“Most importantly, we truly appreciate everyone who took the time to stop by, donate food and money, send e-transfers, and share lots of laughs throughout the day,” she said, adding those contributions “will help a lot of families throughout the holidays.”
Whether the “Bail or Jail” becomes a regular attraction remains to be seen, but Tuckwell indicated they are going to keep doing fun events in the community in some form.
“We will definitely be doing something again,” she said.
The Truants said the Sobeys store in Amherstburg was happy to get involved.
“We just wanted to do something different,” explained Krista.
“It was a good opportunity to give back to the community,” added Rick. “We’ve worked with CKRT before. It’s another way to give back to the community and have fun doing it.”
Krista joked she didn’t want to be in the cell for very long.
“I’m not built for this,” she said.
Anyone who wasn’t able to attend the “Bail or Jail” and would like to donate to the ACS food bank, they can e-transfer a donation to ckrtbordercityradio@gmail.com. The station asks that donors send an e-mail to let them know of the donation with the e-mail to contain the donor’s name, phone number and the amount of the donation so CKRT can ensure that everything goes to ACS.
CKRT is available online at www.ckrtbordercityradio.com and plays classic rock of the ‘70s, 80s and 90s.
"Bail or Jail" fundraiser helps out ACS food bank
By Ron Giofu
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