Donations pour into Amherstburg Food & Fellowship Mission
- Ron Giofu
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
‘Tis the season to help non-profit organizations and the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission is one that has been aided by many.
Among the donations that have been been made public is one by the Fort Malden Animal Hospital. The animal hospital are sponsoring a local family for Christmas, but they are also sponsoring the Christmas meal itself at the mission.
“This year, we’re helping the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission,” said Dr. Kim Quinn. “We donated ten extra-large turkeys for the Christmas lunch as well as sponsoring a local family.”
The clinic and the mission connected earlier in the year at an Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce function and the animal hospital made the decision to help the mission.
“We contacted (volunteer board member) Jill Kanwischer and got things set up to help the family,” said Quinn.
The Fort Malden Animal Hospital wanted to help others during the holidays and believed donating to the mission is a great way to do it.
“They jumped in and wanted to sponsor a family,” Kanwischer said.
Once the opportunity was available to sponsor the Christmas dinner at the mission, the animal hospital was willing to step up for that as well.
“They were so accommodating to our needs,” said Kanwischer.
The free Christmas dinner is Dec. 25 at 12 noon at the mission.
Rob & Tina’s No Frills donated turkeys, boxes of stuffing, cans of gravy, cranberries, squash, bags of potatoes, carrots, onions, apple pies and Canada Dry ginger ale, all in quantities of 32. That is the amount of food baskets being packed.
No Frills co-owner Rob Carr said they wanted to ensure the mission got what they needed without the mission having to use its own funds.
Rob, Tina and their staff wanted to give back to the community and give the mission the food.
Kanwisher added TI Automotive, formerly known as Precision Plastics, provided a substantial donation for the food baskets but thanks to Rob & Tina’s No Frills, the TI Automtive donation can be used for other needs.
“TI Automotive initially made a generous financial donation to cover the cost of the Mission’s 32 Christmas turkey baskets, ensuring the program could move forward without strain on the mission’s resources,” she said. “That support was then matched in an extraordinary way when Rob & Tina’s No Frills donated every item needed for the baskets at no cost.”
Kanwisher said the generosity of both TI Automotive and No Frills meant the mission was “doubly blessed,” allowing the original donation by TI Automotive to be redirected toward purchasing eggs, milk, and meat for the food bank in January.
Movati Athletic donated 140 pounds of food last week. Member experience associate Krystina Leclerc said it is something Movati does annual as they want to give back to the community. Providing support to places like the mission reminds them that giving back to the community even in small ways can make a big difference.
Stella Maris Catholic Elementary School collected food through its recent Christmas open house.
“Thanks to the caring teachers, enthusiastic students, and the wonderful community at Stella Maris, many local families will feel the warmth of Christmas this year,” said Kanwischer.
Integrity Tool & Mold and its employees donated $1,000 through its “Integrity Cares” program. Representative Amy Greco made the cheque presentation, noting the Amherstburg Food & Fellowship Mission is one of four food banks they donate to, along with a number of toy drives, can drives and other charitable initiatives.
By Ron Giofu