Goodfellows deliver for 70th year

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Dinal Peramune, left, and Azhar Choudhr, right – owners of 255 Lark St. where the Chatham Goodfellows toy packing took place – are pictured with Goodfellow Tim Haskell.

Thanks to strong community support, the Chatham Goodfellows, for the 70th year, fed families and provided toys for hundreds of children in Chatham.

The 70th campaign saw $222,000 raised from the community, with in excess of 1,600 food hampers delivered and 1,360 toy packages dropped off.

“The board of directors of Chatham Goodfellows would like to thank the corporate sponsors, private businesses large and small, service clubs, churches, schools, all of the volunteers, and the citizens of Chatham-Kent who helped in making this labour of love possible for those in need in our community,” the organization said in a media release.

The board knew it was going to be a high-demand year, according to the release.

“Citizens continue to struggle to make ends meet,” said the Goodfellows. “The cost of living is out of control and we are only going to see people needing more assistance for years to come.”

Thanks to the care and generosity of local corporations, large and small businesses, service clubs, churches and citizens of Chatham-Kent, the Goodfellows were able to deliver.

The Porchlight campaign raised $57,000 and the street sales campaign raised $31,475. Thanks to other contributions, the Chatham Goodfellows estimated funds collected as of Dec. 31, reached $205,290. But donations continued to flow, and the number reached $222,000.

The funds helped purchase toys, food, and boot and shoe certificates for children.

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