2018 a year of changes and challenges
I cannot believe it is that time for our annual Paper Drive.
We are entering our 109th year and continuing, in the Goodfellows tradition, to help children and those less fortunate within our community.
In 2018 a lot has happened at the Goodfellows.
First, we now have our new office administrative assistant in the person of Coral-Ann Bierer. We are fortunate to have found such a person because she has embraced the spirit of Goodfellows. Coral-Ann sees and understands the value of helping others and she brings with her many skills for which we are the benefactors. Second, in the warehouse and office we have switched all lighting to LED, resulting in great savings for us on electricity. We also had the interior office repainted for a fresh new look. The demographics of the city of Windsor has greatly changed. We must respond to that change. The board is currently reviewing all Goodfellows programs to see if there are ways we can better serve the community. This may result in a variety of changes such as one we are presently experimenting with: Smaller and lighter senior boxes to accommodate their needs.
Do you remember when you brought peanut butter to school? In the schools, we currently provide funds for Breakfast programs at nine elementary schools in the area. It is a fact that a child’s ability to learn is directly related to how well-nourished he or she is in the morning. Our breakfast program helps to ensure that more than 1,500 children each school day receives a healthy breakfast. As stated, we currently fund nine schools, but is the number nine a magical number or is there a 10th or 11th school out there that could benefit from this program? Please give us a call at 519-252-2739, or come to our offices at 401 Park St., W., or invite us to your school or parent group and we will be glad to explain the program in more detail. The board, with the help of a nutritionist, is looking at how to improve the food that is being distributed in our boxes. This could apply to the addition of refrigerated items, and/or snack foods that children could bring to school to be included in our family boxes. Let’s not forget another great program that we offer for children from J.K. to Grade 8: The shoes and boots program for all schools in the City of Windsor, Tecumseh and LaSalle. Again, there are certain needs in this area that the board will be looking to improve upon in this program. Any changes to our programs will undoubtedly increase our service delivery budget. The board will carefully look at every step as we progress to our goal of improvement to present-day needs. The programs we currently offer have only been possible because of the hundreds of volunteers stationed throughout Windsor, Tecumseh and LaSalle, selling the Goodfellows Special Edition newspaper provided to us by the generosity of the Windsor Star. It is also possible because of the response to the Annual Appeal Letters and the people who donate throughout the year to Goodfellows.
How fortunate we are to have a community with such great spirit and generosity. Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. Sincerely,