Port Cares fundraiser taking a trip to Paris

Port Cares is hoping to raise $60,000 at its 20th annual dinner and auction in mid-November.

Funds raised through a silent auction, live auction, ticket sales and sponsorship will be used to support poverty relief services provided through the agency’s Reach Out Food Centre and Food Bank.

The food bank assists 1,200 individuals, one-third of which are children, and on average it distributes17,000 to 20,000 pounds of food each month.

The most needed items include: canned meat, canned fruit, canned vegetables, pasta, pasta sauce, peanut butter, cereal, jam, baby food, formula and also diapers and personal hygiene items.

The food bank also serves hot and nutritious community meals three times a week to families and individuals in need. More than 50 adults and children typically attend each meal. In the winter months, there will be nearly 100 clients attending at meal time.

“Fundraising and donations keep the food bank, crisis services, meal program and other vital services up and running at the Reach Out Food Centre,” says executive director Christine Clark Lafleur.

The dinner, the agency’s major fundraiser, will be held Friday, Nov. 16, at the Italian Canadian Cultural Centre.

Lafleur says Port Cares is busy calling on local businesses, artisans, corporations and community members for donations of items and services.

Some of the items on the roster for the silent and live auction include a Niagara RiverLions jersey and basketball, tickets to a Buffalo Sabres games and a handcrafted Mennonite quilt.

More than 100 tickets are available for sale at $80 a person, which includes a four-course meal catered at the hall at 223 Bell St., and a $40 charitable donation receipt. This year’s theme is An Evening in Paris.