 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
Helping hungry tummies Weledeh school lunch program pulled out of the red by Legion donation
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, June 26, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
City food charities were handed some much-needed cash from Yellowknife's Royal Canadian Legion on Thursday.
The breakfast and lunch programs at Mildred Hall School and Weledeh Catholic School as well as the Yellowknife Food Bank were given $5,000 each, for a total of $15,000 in donations from the legion.
For Simone Gessler, principal of Weledeh Catholic School, the money couldn't come at a better time. The Weledeh program feeds students breakfast, two snacks and a lunch every weekday. They have a $10,000 per year budget but Gessler said the school went $5,000 over-budget this year.
"This means a lot to us, since we run on a donation basis."
The $5,000 donation puts the program back on track to give Weledeh students the nutrition they need.
Pamela Weeks-Beaton, who runs the food program at Mildred Hall School, is thrilled to receive the boost in cash. The Legion donation means getting some essential equipment upgraded.
"My fridge just broke, so I'll be buying a new fridge."
Lloyd Lush, past president of Yellowknife's Legion, said they're required to donate the money they make at their bar. When he found out about students needing breakfast and lunch, he knew where he wanted the money to go.
"We're all about helping kids," Lush said.
Lush is happy the Legion is able to give back to the community again, since it has suffered financial woes in the past. The Legion closed temporarily in 2009 because of low membership and it owed $80,000 to Yellowknife businesses and other Legion branches.
The Yellowknife Food Bank operates year-round. It is open twice monthly, every second Saturday from 9:30 until noon.
| 
