Just a few weeks after asking the community for help purchasing a new industrial electric range, the Life Centre in downtown Guelph has raised enough money to replace the broken one in their basement space at Royal City Church.
Robyn Ferrier, the Life Centre’s director of fundraising, said the charitable organization is thankful for the financial help received by concerned Guelphites.
“The community has been amazing,” said Ferrier.
The organization has been using two consumer-grade stoves in the meantime, but those stoves don’t last long at the pace the Life Centre prepares meals.
“We just burn through those little elements or the doors get broken so easily,” said Ferrier.
An average of 100 hot meals are prepared every day at the centre, amounting to almost 26,000 plates per year.
The organization had to turn down multiple offers for industrial gas ranges because the cost of retrofitting the century-old limestone church would have cost prohibitive, said Ferrier.
The Life Centre raised slightly more funds than needed for the stove, but Ferrier said that extra money will be spent to accommodate the new stove, which is bigger than the one that was removed.
Also, because of a change in fire codes, the new range will need additional venting.
Ferrier said she is not sure that the donations received so far will cover the modifications that need to be made to the kitchen space.
“Fitting it into the kitchen is a bigger issue than taking the old one out and putting the new one in,” said Ferrier.
The organization will have to make do with the consumer stoves until the new range comes in about four weeks from now.
A fundraising campaign was started through the Guelph Community Foundation called The Life Centre Fund to Feed Community.
“We normally would have groups that come in and prepare meals on site. That’s what we have had to put on hold,” said Ferrier.
Ferrier said the location has had a meal program of some sort for roughly 30 years, with the six days a week-program run by The Life Centre starting around 10 years ago.
Saturday is the busiest night, with many families being among those receiving the 150 plates of food they will serve.
More information on The Life Centre can be found at www.thelifecentre.ca.
