PRESS RELEASES

Civic Centre drive hits home stretch - Posted on 2009-01-15

The Charlotte County Civic Centre Project fundraising team has reached the $2.5 million mark in its drive to raise $3.5 million as its contribution to a new recreation complex in St. Stephen.
Peter Heelis, co-chair of the fundraising committee says, “You have to reach certain milestones to invigorate your team.
“And of course the general public only sees in terms of success. We have been able to move up through the charts throughout the whole process.
We are very optimistic that we are going to see a successful conclusion early in the new year.”
The $3.5 million will be added to $2.1 million committed by the town.
“This will then be leveraged into the $16-million project,” says Heelis.
In raising the next million, Heelis and his team have a strategy. While much of the money raised so far has been through corporate donations, it is expected that much of the remainder will be from individuals and families.
“Part of the strategy will be approaching families. Some families have come and said, ‘I can’t, as an individual, make a significant donation but I have an extended family and we would like to make a donation as a family.’ Some of the families may not be in the area, but have made a significant role in the history of this community, so some of those people will have their families immortalized, in this new building,” says Heelis.
Another idea will be known as the favourite sons and daughters campaign, targeting people who have
grown up in this area and still have a connection to the area.
One person who serves as an example to others is Donna Bresnahan. Bresnahan believes in the area, and is optimistic about the future. Bresnahan is an active member of the community, singing with
the Shiretown Singers, taking part in activities with the Beta Sigma Phi sorority, and sitting on the board of Hospice of Charlotte County.
When the project first started coming together, Bresnahan was looking forward to retirement. She thought about it and decided that that her first pension cheque is like “found money” and committed the cheque to the Civic Centre Project.
“I felt strongly that I wanted to support this,” says Bresnahan.
Bresnahan is active in her lifestyle as well, taking yoga classes, dancing, skating in the winter, and swimming in the summer. While she may have received her first pension cheque, she is by no means ready for a rocking chair. While many people look to the civic centre as a venue for youth activity, Bresnahan sees this as a perfect place to encourage people to retire to this area.
For now, the project continues on with people like Bresnahan, determined to see it through to completion.
“When we make the $3 million mark, I think that everybody will say this thing is in the bag,” says Heelis.