It Takes Heart Capital Campaign officials have launched the Last Mile Campaign to raise the final $1 million needed for HSHPE’s new Animal Care and Education Centre.
Greg Sudds, Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee announced Thursday that $5 million of the $6 million needed has been raised, thanks to the support of the Hastings and Prince Edward community.
One million dollars is still to be raised, which will be used to pay back loans from the cities of Belleville and Quinte West.
In a statement, Sudds said the Last Mile Campaign will have several announcements to make in coming weeks, including the reveal of a Belleville native turned Hollywood celebrity who will be lending support.
He thanked Shawn Patriquin of They Integrated Inc. for helping create the campaign’s new look and logo.
Sudds made his comments in front of a crowd of supporters at the new centre’s Community Education Room.
“As I look back only a year and half ago, when I committed to chair this campaign, I did not yet appreciate that it would take a village – individuals, foundations, businesses and governments – to get this centre built,” remarked Sudds.
He thanked all of those who have stepped forward so far, with 887 donations to date, including those from the Province of Ontario and the cities of Belleville and Quinte West.
“Every campaign has its defining moments,” added Sudds, “and for us one of those moments was the initial $1 million gift made to the Humane Society from Patsy and Thomas Mason, which allowed us to purchase the land the centre now sits on.”
Sudds acknowledged major gifts from:
• The John M and Bernice Parrott Foundation
• The late Normand Russell, David and Elizabeth Smith and Ilse Huszka
• Lloyd, Wendy and Jeremy McCoy
• Wayne and Wendy Sheppard
• Ralph Johnston and Tony Martin and adorable Labradors, Jasper and Samson
• Al and Tracey Bunnett
• Lola Reid-Allin and Dr. Jeff Allin
• Linda and Peter Kempenaar
• David Clegg
Another major boost to the campaign came from West City Honda’s Corporate Challenge, which matched all corporate donations made during the spring and summer of 2022 up to $100,000 for a total of $200,000.
Sudds thanked local businesses who stepped forward during the Corporate Challenge, including Phil Chalmers at CDS, Ross McDougall at McDougall Insurance, Best Buy, Royal Bank of Canada, Stephen Quickert at Reid’s Dairy, Steve and Terri Morris at Free-Flow Petroleum and many others.
“A special thank you to Hilary Murphy and her team at TaskForce – you’ve been the designer, maker, advocate and the caring heart of this entire project.”
Learn more and/or support the new centre by visiting ItTakesHeart.ca or contacting Campaign Manager JC D’Amours at 613-813-1917.
