Wellspring makes final push in fundraising
Wellspring Niagara is making a final push for its fundraising campaign in support of the non-profit organization’s new $4-million facility in Fonthill.
Located next to Pelham’s new Meridian Community Centre, the facility is expected to be in full operation by spring, following a soft opening in early January. A concert scheduled for Dec. 6 at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines will be the next event to reach the goal of bringing in another $800,000 on top of the $4.2 million that has already been raised through corporate and individual sponsors on the way to the final target of $5 million for the ‘Help Us Build Hope’ capital campaign.
“We’ve been very pleased with how it’s gone,” said Ann Mantini-Celima, Wellspring’s executive director who is also a member of the concert’s headlining act, the Mantini Sisters, a well-known trio in Niagara comprised of Mantini and her sisters Barbara and Sandra.
The new facility, built on a two-acre parcel of land donated by the Town of Pelham, will offer an 11,000-square-foot space, an upgrade to the 2,000-square-foot building the agency has called home on Schmon Parkway in Thorold since 2001.
Wellspring Niagara was an idea started by Mantinis’ brother Aldo, who died from cancer in 1999.
They are dedicating the show next month to him.
“He never did see Wellspring come to fruition. It was his dream,” said Mantini in an interview, pointing out that the doors opened at their Thorold location two years after his death.
“We’ve been meeting the needs of cancer-supportive services since then and have grown tremendously,” she said.
Wellspring Niagara is an organization that offers a variety of free supportive care programs for cancer patients, their families, and their caregivers.
Last year, 864 cancer patients came to Wellspring to take advantage of the 40 programs they offer.
The sisters’ performance will offer a mix of jazz, pop and swing standards, joined by a seven-piece band.
For further information and to buy tickets, you can contact the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre at 1-855-515-0722 or go online to www.firstontariopac.ca