We often hear stories of the struggles people in our community are facing that touch our hearts and make us want to do whatever we can to help.
When a Chatham-Kent couple was without heat in the dead of winter because of an issue with their furnace and no one would help, a call to Fahrhall Home Comfort Specialists from The Chatham Voice got them a new furnace.
Absolute Comfort in Chatham helped a man fight a company that incorrectly installed his heating and cooling system; they even went with him to court to get justice.
And after hearing about the struggles of Ebony Vandenbogaerde – a young Chatham girl currently in a rehab hospital in Toronto after surgery to remove a spinal tumour that left her paralyzed from the waist down – businesses, service clubs and private citizens are stepping up to raise money and equipment that Ebony and her family will need for her to function in her new reality.
All it took was a Chatham Voice article and a few phone calls, and the Mocha Cruisers Shriners’ Club pledged to come to this week’s Voice open house and fundraiser with a $1,000 cheque in hand. As well, many businesses offered up door prizes and raffle items, and many people went out of their way to help raise money for the family. Next week, you can read all about how the fundraiser went and all the people we need to thank for their help.
Our office received many calls to offer assistance, from the donation of a wheelchair to money to cards of encouragement and gifts. The people of this community have always stepped up for others in crisis or need, and this instance isn’t any different.
Our community makes us proud each and every day for the way it looks out for the people in it, who may need a little help through a difficult time.
People continue to run fundraisers for the Vandenbogaerde family, and send encouragement to Ebony while she is in the rehab hospital in Toronto. Her mom, Maria, is overwhelmed at the generosity of the community and very grateful that complete strangers would care enough to make sure she can look after her daughter while she recovers.
That is Chatham-Kent in a nutshell. We can complain about the odds and ends that frustrate us, however, we will close ranks to support our own.
