12-year-old Lucy de Haas and her friend Madison Dyck presented a cheque for more than $350 to the Kelowna Food Bank last year. This year they hope to bring their total to more than $1,000.
Image Credit: Contributed
December 11, 2014 - 7:27 PM
KELOWNA – For the third year in a row a Mission family is showing that charity doesn’t have to be a lot of hard work.
For the past two years, the de Haas family have partnered with a local pizza shop to donate more than a dozen pizzas they take to school and offer to the other kids in exchange for a donation. They have already raised around $750 for the Kelowna Food Bank and this year hope to surpass $1,000.
“We heard that the Food Bank was a little short this year and the kids decided to do it again,” says father Harry de Haas. “It’s like a kind of social entrepreneurship.”
Mr. Mozzarella’s upper mission location have this year donated 13 large cheese pizzas, bringing the total number over the last three years to over 30.
“My son Harrison got the ball rolling at Anne McClymont and then my daughter Lucy took it over last year. This year she’s doing it again at Willowstone Academy.”
Kelowna Food Bank associate executive director David Purdon says although the amount raised may not seem like a lot of money, with their purchasing power they can turn $1 into $3 worth of food delivered.
“Christmas takes a massive chunk out of our inventory,” he says. “It’s so important that individuals, groups, businesses and schools arrange these kinds of small, in-house networked events. Little things like this really add up.”
The de Haas family will be picking up the pizzas from Mr. Mozzarella Friday and will deliver a check to the food bank sometime next week.
“Lucy and her best friend Madison are the cutest little duo,” Purdon says. “They did at least a couple food fundraisers for us last year and they even came down and volunteered. They are awesome little girls.”
“We’re hoping it inspires others to be creative because it’s really easy and everyone benefits,” Harry says. “The work they do at the Food Bank is so important and the cash goes a long way.”
The Kelowna Food Bank is currently in desperate need of several items, including canned soup, canned fruit, tomato sauce, pasta and Kraft dinner.
Donations can be made at their Ellis St. location or at any of the marked donation bins at grocery stores around Kelowna.
Cash donations can also be made through the Food Bank website.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014