Over $2.4M in Catch the Ace proceeds distributed in Hagersville
It was a month ago that Catch the Ace last brought them all together at the Hagersville legion on a Thursday evening. This time, though, it was to celebrate the culmination of those 45 weeks of work.
On April 27, the Hagersville Lions Club and the Hagersville Rocks committee of the Hagersville and District Chamber of Commerce distributed over $2.4 million of the money raised through the progressive jackpot to representatives from various community not-for-profits.
Half of the money that came in through ticket sales went to the weekly winners and the progressive jackpot. The other half - after expenses - was evenly split between the two organizing groups, and it was up to them to determine how they would distribute their share of the funds.
Chamber president Rob Phillips, master of ceremonies for the evening, reminded everyone that the recipient organizations served the needs of residents on an ongoing basis.
Particularly in the case of the largest donations, This is not meant to replace the regular support," that the community gives them, he said. Rather, the influx of funds was a once in a lifetime opportunity" to do things that never would have been possible otherwise.
The Lions gave out over a dozen cheques to organizations like Minor Soccer ($250), TEAD (The Equestrian Association for the Disabled) ($2,000), and the Alzheimer Society - Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk, Hamilton Halton ($2,000) and Haldimand Norfolk Senior Support Services ($10,000).
Jason Gallagher, Haldimand's manager of emergency services and fire chief, expressed gratitude for the $15,000 donation that had been made to the Hagersville Firefighters Association and the $25,000 donation to Haldimand County Paramedic Services.
He said the county's emergency responders dedicate a lot of time and effort in our community," and that the money will be used for things like training and response equipment.
The Lions' biggest cheque of the night - just over $869,000 - went to the Hagersville Food Bank.
Chair Karen Leatherbarrow said, Thank you so very much. We are overwhelmed with the proceeds ... we are so proud and so humbled at the same time."
She noted that the food bank has three new programs it's planning to launch thanks to this windfall.
One of the cheques presented was a complete surprise for the recipient: a $50,000 contribution to the Hagersville legion.
Phillips noted that the legion had never charged a rental fee to host Catch the Ace, despite having to contend with things like people filling out tickets on the walls and causing damage, and more cleanup work afterwards.
Jack Esselment, president of the legion, acknowledged that it had become more of a challenge the longer it went on and the larger the crowds grew.
I know that night when we had a winner, there was a hell of a lot of happy people here. On the other side of the coin, we could have done a bit more for our community (had it gone on longer)," he said. We would definitely do it again, because it's for our community."
The Lions have around $460,000 still to be distributed; it was announced that they are planning a meeting with Habitat for Humanity to discuss a sizeable donation toward a new house build in Hagersville.
The last cheque of the night was Hagersville Rocks' donation of $1.4 million to the West Haldimand General Hospital and Healthcare Foundation.
Todd Stepanuik, president and CEO of West Haldimand General Hospital, told The Sachem, I never, ever would have anticipated the outpouring of support and the degree of ownership and pride the public has in their hospital organization."
Lisa Hostein, executive director of the foundation, thanked the volunteers for their ongoing dedication throughout the fundraiser.
You've given and given and given of yourselves, and it will never be forgotten."
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With the Catch the Ace funds being distributed in the community, we wanted to know what impact that will have for the recipients.