Festival of Giving raises $250,040

The 2016 Festival of Giving raised more than just ‘disco fever.’

On Saturday, April 16, over 1,050 guests boogied into the John D. Bradley Convention Centre for the 15th annual Festival of Giving. With the tremendous support of FOG’s generous sponsors, the Chatham-Kent community, and the committee and volunteers, this year’s Studio 54 – Disco Fever-themed event raised $250,040 for the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent, and several other food banks and children’s charities throughout the community.

This year’s event featured aerial bartenders, Go-go dancers, two live bands, a 70s-style games area, and an oxygen bar. Alongside the traditional Live Auction, this year’s Festival introduced an online auction system – the first in Chatham-Kent.

Gord Purchase, the 2016 Festival of Giving chair stated: “As Chair of the 2016 Festival of Giving I have seen a side of Chatham-Kent that everyone talks about but rarely gets the chance to truly experience first hand. I was overwhelmed by the generosity and selflessness of the event attendees when they helped surpass the final amount raised from $248,900 to $250,040 by throwing their $20s, $50s and $100s on stage, after Mike Genge, Executive Director of the Foundation, asked for a final push to get the event over the quarter million dollar mark. Never have I seen such amazing support from a town that I now call home. I am proud to say I live in Chatham-Kent and I just wanted to thank everyone in this community for their wiliness to help other in need.”

Here are some photos of the event:


– Photo credit: Brett Thompson

- Advertisment -