Royal LePage makes $9,707 donation to Crisis Society
By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter
The Wheatland Crisis Society has received a sizable donation from the local Royal LePage Benchmark branch to supplement their operations.
Carol Manson Mcleod, executive director of the Wheatland Crisis Society, said the team was very excited when Royal LePage reached out to inform them of the donation and of its sum.
“Nonprofits, we struggle to keep going all of the time, so this is allowing us to provide some more comfort to our clients who come in, so we’re really thrilled with the donation,” said Mcleod.
Royal LePage donated a total of $9,707 to the crisis society, which Mcleod explained was gathered from an annual fundraiser through which Royal LePage branches are able to choose their intended recipients.
She added the monetary donation from the real estate firm was not the only thing given to the team.
“This is a new relationship for us with Royal LePage, we haven’t worked with them before and in addition to the money that they gave us, they have also given us a donation of women’s sanitary products and makeup and things that we are always in need of,” said Mcleod. “Royal LePage has been more than generous with us. They identify charities that they want to give to every year and we were chosen as the local charity from their local office in order to be part of that.”
Mcleod added many of the clients who come through the doors of the crisis society have little to nothing with them and so donations such as useful products become invaluable.
“A lot of people don’t think to donate those types of things, but when people come to our shelter, they come with nothing. It really gives us an opportunity to make them feel whole again,” said Mcleod. “There’s everything from the basics, because of the cost of food going up, but also those niceties. When people (arrive) on our doorstep and they come with children, we don’t have toys, we don’t have the basic necessities of life and so these types of things allow us to provide that.”
According to Mcleod, funding for the society from the provincial government has stagnated since 2015, which has led to difficulties within the organization to keep pace with rising costs.
Regarding the partnership between the Wheatland Crisis Society and Royal Lepage, it apparently will not end with just the lump sum donation.
“We’re actually having a drag show … we did that a few years ago before COVID-19. On May 6, we’re having a show and Royal LePage has offered to sponsor us for that on top of this donation,” said Mcleod adding that information about the upcoming fundraising show will be forthcoming.
Royal LePage was contacted for comment, though did not reply prior to the time of publication.