The Austin Hall was filled with generosity this past week as the North Norfolk Foundation hosted its first-ever Matching Dollar Challenge. It was a busy evening and when all the donations were tallied and matched, a total of nearly $40,000 will go out to four local organizations.
Karen Guth, President of the North Norfolk Foundation, couldn’t have been more thrilled with the turnout.
“We were overwhelmed by the evening's generous community donations, which totaled $21,150. The foundation is honored to match the evening's donations and distribute the funds. We were so thankful for everybody that joined us that evening.”
The funds will help four community projects:
- Austin Ball Diamond received $12,255 to kickstart its revitalization project.
- Valley View Bible Camp secured $8,440 for a Go-Kart initiative.
- North Norfolk Childcare Centre was awarded $8,555 to support the Austin daycare project.
- Sprucedale Industries received $9,825 to upgrade their kitchen appliances and supplies.
“This was the very first time that we've done this challenge. We know that the community loves soup and pies, so we decided to kind of marry soup and pie with this challenge. Instead of the usual soup and pie, where somebody will come in and give a donation to whoever is putting on the event, we asked them to take their donation and put it towards one of these four community organizations. It was exciting to see what was going to happen.”
Guth noted that many donors even chose to split their contributions evenly among all four groups.
“We saw that several times in the evening, people that were in support of everything that was going on in Austin and wanted to ensure that everybody was getting a piece. The town was incredibly supportive. We were overjoyed to see the support coming out of Austin, MacGregor, and the rest of North Norfolk as well.”
The Matching Dollar Challenge coincided with Giving Challenge Week, where donations to the foundation are further boosted by contributions from the Winnipeg Foundation and the Manitoba Government.
To continue supporting the North Norfolk Foundation and its initiatives, donations are welcome year-round.