2024-04-03
Help give a veteran a lift campaign
BRIDGEWATER - The Bridgewater #24 branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is asking for financial help.
The branch that has served the veterans and community for more than 90 years is turning to the public help in raising money to fix their much-used elevator.
Installed in 1991, the elevator in the multi-level facility enables mobility-challenged people a way to attend functions at either the upstairs or downstairs level. It is also used in several other capacities, explains branch President Daniel Boudreau.
"We have about 445 members right now and many of them use it, but it's also the community that uses it, whether its wedding receptions and celebrations of life or bingo on the second floor, or our kitchen on the bottom floor," he said.
If events are catered, the kitchen staff have to get all of the drinks and food up the stairs somehow, and the elevator is the way to do it.
"We don't even realize how much it is used outside of our main events. There's a daily need," he said.
However, over the past two years, the elevator has faltered several times and people have actually been stuck for short periods of times and a call to the fire department has had to happen.
"And of course, it's not something you can hire a contractor to do. The service provider has all of the gear to fix it," said Boudreau.
The company that installed the elevator has inspected it and the lowest estimate to get it up and running is $108,000. Boudreau added that a complete overhaul would run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Boudreau aid they have been working for about a year to come up with ideas, cut some costs here and there and by doing that, they were able to come up with $10,000 which was a down payment to secure the proposal and the parts.
Another two payments of $25,000 each is needed to be able to get the work scheduled and get things started.
Hampering the financial situation for the branch for the past several years has been the lack of events able to be hosted because of the COVID-19 scare. Boudreau said they have just started catering again.
"Our main revenue stream is through our activities, whether it's bingo, darts, pool or hosting events," he said, adding that they have broken down the costs and have determined that it takes about $500 per day to just keep the building up and running, which isn't cheap.
The Bridgewater branch is one of the largest in Nova Scotia and one of the oldest and in just a few years, 2027, will be celebrating 100 years of operation.
Along with asking the public for help, grant applications are going out fast and furiously to try and raise enough money to cover the cost. The town has also stepped up and they are now taking in all cash donations and they are able to give out tax deductible receipts, which the Legion is not allowed to do from their general operating budget.
The town will hold the money in trust, then release it when it gets to a certain amount, explained Boudreau, who said they appreciate the town for doing this.
He said the legion has two budgets - one is the poppy trust fund in which they can provide receipts for, but that fun is strictly regulated and can not be used for projects such as this. However, after some research they may be able to use a small portion of the money for this project and will do so.
The provincial legion also has their own province wide 50-50 Raffle Box draw which many people may not be aware of, said Boudreau. It is smaller than the well-known firefighting efforts, but they do get some money from that as well.
Boudreau said they will continue to look at all streams of funding and continue to cutback their own costs if they can. He stresses the importance of a working elevator in the building, not only just for their membership, but the general public as well.
