A $200,000 cheque from the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation was delivered to the Calgary Veterans Association this week ahead of Remembrance Day, in what staff say is the biggest donation ever received by far.
The funds, raised in September during the Leg Up Foundation’s annual Unstoppable dinner and auction, will be enough to keep 50 vulnerable veterans’ families from being made homeless, according to the association. It will also buy a much-needed elevator to help veterans access a lounge in the association headquarters, and help support the Pet Promise Program.
“I started crying when I heard the amount,” recalled Marie Blackburn, executive director of the Calgary Veterans Association. “This size of donation is groundbreaking for us, and it will help so many people during a time when they are struggling like never before.”
Blackburn told how rent increases in the city have made it difficult for many veterans to keep up with their bills.
“We’ve intervened to stop 38 veterans and their families from being made homeless in the last few months,” Blackburn said. “Last year, we saved 148 families from losing their homes.
“This is the biggest donation we have ever received by far. It’s incredible.”
The donation follows the $73,000 that was given to two Jasper charities by the Leg Up Foundation last month.
Catherine Agar, co-chair of Unstoppable, the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation fundraiser, said: “We were so happy to be able to give this donation to such a worthy group.
“The work undertaken by the Veterans Association to support our military heroes when they need it most is invaluable.
“We were saddened to hear of the continuing struggles so many are having with the cost of living, and it is our sincere hope that this contribution can help alleviate some of those difficulties.”
The Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation is Spruce Meadows’ charitable arm, set up in 2015 by president and CEO Linda Southern-Heathcott, as a means of formalizing the culture of giving established by her parents, Ron and Margaret Southern, when they opened the venue in 1975.
The foundation supports a number of grassroots charities in Calgary and across Alberta, with a particular focus on education, health and wellness, amateur and grassroot sport, community and agriculture. Since its inception, more than $2million has been distributed.
To learn more about the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation visit: https://www.sprucemeadows.com/lgfoundation.
