Charity AuctionSome of you may wonder what happened to the money raised at the charity auction. Well, the money was distributed equally between three charities: Autism Speaks Canada, The Touchstone Youth Centre, and the Lakeland Humane Society. We had originally planned to support the Toronto Humane Society, but had some difficulties in arranging to get them the money – and therefore in the same spirit, we supported a local humane society. Tom Melissis himself presented the cheque to the Touchstone Youth Centre in January, a presentation which was attended by Mr. Joseph Talavera on behalf of RCW 139. I’ll let Joseph describe what it was like: "Sorry it's taken me so long to get this to you. I hope it's not too late to get this on the website. I know it's important that people see where their support has gone and the difference it's making in lives of youth in need. The organizers' hard work and the attendees' generosity combined to make RCW a tremendous success. It was a privilege for me to represent both groups at the cheque presentation to Touchstone Youth Centre, the charity selected by Tom Melissis. Tom and I drove together to Touchstone together. During the ride, we talked about the last time we were together for this identical purpose. The year was 1998. I think Tom's continued support of this charity, over 10 years later, speaks not only to Tom's character, but also the amazing work that Touchstone does. We met with Susette Clunis, the agency's Executive Director; Rick Farmer, the Chairman of the Board; and two other Touchstone employees. They were all very grateful for the donation. Next was a tour of the facility, which, for me, was the highlight of the event and the part I really want people to be aware of: because of the tour, I can tell everyone who contributed where their money is going.
It was a tremendously rewarding return to Touchstone. For me personally, it was an honour to represent everyone who contributed to the donation, and also to be a representative of the giving and generosity that Due South, and RCW in particular, inspires. Thank you for that opportunity. "Thank you" to Tom for keeping Touchstone on our radar. And a very BIG "Thank you!" to everyone that made the donation possible." |
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