In the spirit of the holiday season, Local 255 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), will be donating $10,000 to various food banks in the Bruce, Grey, Huron and Wellington counties. CUPE 255 will officially hand over the cheques to Major Sterling Snelgrove, the executive director of Hanover Salvation Army on Wednesday, December 11, at 12:00 noon, located at 581 12th Street in Hanover.
“Our members are front-line workers and see first-hand some of the challenges residents of our communities are going through,” said Mark O’Leary, president of CUPE 255. “Donating to local food banks is our union’s way of helping out in the community.”
Donations will be made to different local food banks in the counties, from Arthur to Kincardine and Tobermory to Wingham and many other towns in between. The donation recipients include local Salvation Army agencies in Hanover, Port Elgin and Wiarton, District Food Bank in Walkerton, Lions Head and District Food Bank in Ferndale and others, with a total of 17 different agencies receiving donations from CUPE 255.
The cheques will be officially handed over to the Salvation Army in Hanover, and the agency will then provide the individual cheques to each of the local food banks. “The existence of food banks and the growing demand for the services of the food banks speaks to the issues of high unemployment and inequality that exist in our society,” continued O’Leary. “The donation is one way to help the food banks serve our residents and we encourage residents, other local unions and all our members and their families to help out in any way they can, especially during the holidays.”
CUPE 255 represents over 180 municipal workers employed at Bruce Telecom in Kincardine, Bruce County Highway in Walkerton, Town of Hanover, Town of Wellington North, Township of Arran-Elderslie and Westario Power in Walkerton.
For more information, please contact:
Mark O’Leary, CUPE 255 President, 519-379-4349
Jim Keenan, CUPE National Representative, 705-722-7387
James Chai, CUPE Communications, 905-739-3999