Willing to help
Will-kare contributes to Colchester-east Hants CMHA building campaign
The Colchester East Hants CMHA received a big boost for its ‘Branching Out’ campaign with the donation of $50,000 from Will-kare Paving.
A donation from Will- Kare Paving has provided a big boost for the CMHA’S ‘Branching Out’ campaign.
Will-kare contributed $50,000 to the campaign, which is raising funds to renovate the Colchester-east Hants branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s new premises at 859 Prince St.
“There’s no one you can meet that doesn’t know someone with mental health issues,” said Danny O’connor, general manager at Will-kare. “Andrew Lake (who is on the CMHA board) talked to us about it and we felt this would be a good way to give back to the community. Our work is done in the Colchester area so we like to help here, and we’ve helped with other major campaigns. If we have funds available, we’re willing to help.”
He said they had considered giving the funds over a five-year period, but felt it would be of more benefit if it was all provided at once.
“We’re thrilled; this is such a generous donation,” said Susan Henderson, executive director of the local CMHA branch. “It will help tremendously.”
She said, along with helping financially, the donation reminds others that the campaign is ongoing.
“It would be so exciting to get started there (at the new building),” she said. “There’s been so much interest over the past year.
“The roof has to be done, so we had to slow down and be more patient, but it’s hard when we see people hurting.”
The campaign was designed to raise $1.5 million for the initial phase of renovations. The building has 14,000 sq. ft. of floor space, and 10,400 sq. ft. of that would be renovated in the initial phase.