Turkey Drive

Rotary Club aims to raise $400,000 for Christmas meals

December 14, 2020

Each year, the Rotary Club (together with the House of Friendship) work tirelessly to ensure that vulnerable families in Waterloo Region can still have holiday meal on the table. This includes a turkey and normally a hamper of food, although these food donations have been replaced with a grocery gift card in response to the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.

MarshallZehr’s Chief Operating Officer Cecil Hayes is the chair of the Rotary Christmas turkey drive campaign, in support of the House of Friendship’s Christmas hamper program for Waterloo Region.

“At MarshallZehr Group, it’s always been very important to us to get involved in the community directly with things that our staff care about, and our owners care about” says Hayes.

“We’ve had staff, clients, family, and friends of staff members get involved. And that’s one of the unique things we do at MarshallZehr is we do invite our clients into the giving that we do, to walk along beside us”.

The Rotary Club relies on the support of generous donations to help supply turkeys and food to over 8,000 families in the region. The goal this year is to collect $400,000 to cover the costs of the program, with donations come from individuals as well as companies from the area. The Rotary Club is hoping members of the community will be more motivated than ever to help out those who may be struggling.

“It’s a time to share what we do have and be grateful for what we’ve been given”, Hayes said. “When we give locally, the impact of that is multiplied. There are a lot of asks this time of year from a lot of different organizations – the fantastic thing about the Turkey Drive is that it’s immediate, it’s tangible.”

“The people you’re helping are quite often your neighbours, people you interact with on a regular basis, and you wouldn’t necessarily know their families are in need of some help.”

Click on the video below to learn more from MarshallZehr’s own, Cecil Hayes:

 

You can help support the Rotary Club Turkey Drive by making a donation here.

To read more about the Rotary Club’s program and the House of Friendship’s Christmas hamper program, please click here.