The Lauberivière shelter is worried after having collected only half of the turkeys it hoped to provide holiday feasts to the most disadvantaged.
Of the objective of 800 festive items, only 400 were collected after December 23. The organization which must organize several meals for the holiday season hopes to collect enough donations by New Year's Eve.
The festive foods collected, for example turkeys, tourtières, tarts and pâtés, will be used to fill the plates during the Christmas Eve and New Year's Day meals which will be served in Lauberivière.
“According to my happiness barometer, at 400 turkeys I am a little anxious, at 500 turkeys I would be happy, but at 800 turkeys I would be fulfilled,” explains Éric Boulay, general manager of Lauberivière.
The official operation is taking place, for a 3e year, the day of December 23 as well as December 24 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The organization is counting on this last day to achieve its objective.
The number of meals served increased by 10% this year according to Mr. Boulay. “In other years we had 200 to 250 place settings, but this year we had to increase to 300 place settings for New Year's Eve because we know that more people are going to need us at Christmas,” he adds.
According to him, the difficulty in obtaining so many donations this year is not due to a lack of generosity from the population. “I can testify that the people of Quebec are generous after 26 years of working here, but do these people still have the means to give so much?” he asks.
The festive foods collected during the collection will be used during Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve dinners, Christmas brunch, but also throughout the year. The festive foods collected during the collection will be used during Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve dinners, Christmas brunch, but also throughout the year.
Photo: Sarah-Jeanne Tremblay
TURKEY
For people who cannot travel, it is possible to donate by sending a text message “TURKEY” to 41010. This automatically sends a donation of $25.
With the Canada Post strike, the annual fundraising campaign was also delayed. “We are counting on the solidarity of the citizens of Quebec to make this campaign a success despite the current challenges. Each contribution, whether it is a turkey or a monetary donation, makes a tangible difference in the lives of the people we support,” explains Simon Coté, general director of the Fondation de Lauberivière in a press release.
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