'Trinity Infant Food Shelf' at Trinity United Church in North Bay, will receive over $2,400 from the North Bay Heritage Railway and Carousel Company 'Charity Day' event held Saturday. Treasurer Don Coutts said it was the most the event had raised for a charity in at least five years, typically the fundraiser generates $1,600 to $1,700.
He said the good weather along with new ticket prices, which are going over well, might explain the increase.
Barbara Mote, Saturday morning Shift Captain, says the executive board decides when the event is held. The membership holds a separate vote to select which non-profit group or organization will receive the day's proceeds, based on the letters they receive.
"Once a year we have a meeting in the spring and look at applications submitted by groups and organizations for our charity day. It's held one day a year, traditionally on the first Saturday of June. We'll take a vote and that will decide our charity for the following year, so we can plan ahead a little bit," explained Mote.
This year's recipient was selected based on the work it does for young families. Linda McLay is the program coordinator for the Trinity Infant Food Shelf. It currently provides assistance to 50 families during their child's first year of life.
"We know how expensive it is to have a baby, so they can come and get things like diapers, wipes, baby food, formula and whatever else the community donates to us," said McLay. "We provide $50 worth of the basics, free of charge, to every family who comes to visit us. That's why they can only come once a month. So for every $50 we collect today, that's another family who can enjoy a little bit of help."
Andrea Payne became a mom for the second time, just a week and a half ago. She knows how expensive it is raising children. She hadn't heard of the charity until she brought her family to the train and carousel Saturday. Now that she knows it exists, she says she'll support it any way she can.
"I didn't realize with my first child how expensive formula would be. Actually all of it, formula, diapers, it was all very expensive which I wasn't prepared for ahead of time," she said. "I think its a great idea, I think it definitely can help mothers who might not be financially secure."
The Saturday morning shift captain says the volunteers look forward to charity day, seeing how excited the little one's get.
"We love it. It's why we volunteer," said Mote.
Coutts says in recent weeks, the mini-train and carousel company has had six or eight new people step up to volunteer.
"We're short our maximum number by three or four right now," said Coutts. "We try to have at least eight volunteers per shift."
Coutts says they tend to lose 10 to 15 volunteers over the winter, and some will take some vacation time in the summer. He said on those days when they're short of volunteers, the smaller carousel won't be open.
"Unfortunately that's the one that stays closed. Our priority is the train of course, followed by the big carousel and we try to encourage all shift captains to make sure they have enough volunteers".
The successful applicant for the charity day is required to provide three volunteers per shift. Next year's recipient is Nipissing Serenity Hospice. Coutts says applicants can send their letter at any time to the Heritage Railway and Carousel Company, 100 Ferguson Street, North Bay P1B 1W8.