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Community Foundation’s 10-Year Anniversary Radio-Drive Raises $75,000 for Area Non-Profits

By Amber McGuckin

Sunday, June 1, 2014 9:44:47 EDT PM

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Hugh Arklie is the executive director of the Thomas Hill Foundation in Winnipeg that helped found the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation. He was interviewed for the radio-drive that raised $75,000 for the foundation’s 10-year anniversary on Friday, May 30. Amber McGuckin/Daily Miner and News

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation raised $75,000 from their 10-year anniversary radio-drive on Friday, May 30.

The $10K/10HR Giving Challenge greatly exceeded it’s original goal to raise just $10,000 in 10 hours to go towards the foundation’s endowment funds and then to grants for Kenora organizations and charities.

One of the big donations came from the Golden Eagle Casino that contributed $25,000 for First Nations youth scholarships and bursaries.

Hugh Arklie is the executive director of the Thomas Hill Foundation in Winnipeg that put up the initial $100,000 investment. That investment was contingent on the community raising $200,000. That initial seed of $300,000 to start the foundation has turned into more than $3 million dollars.

“It takes a lot of hard work but we are really proud of the people in the Kenora-area and we are really glad it turned out this way.”

Arklie said he expected the investment to be taken as far as it has in the past decade.

“Truth be told, yes we did expect it because it’s a common result of communities that get together and exercise enthusiasm, this is typically what happens,” he said.

The live charity drive was broadcast on CJRL 89.5 at the Copperfin Credit Union, its main sponsor, before moving to the Lake of the Woods Brewing Company for the second five hours.

Arklie was on the radio to encourage people to donate.

“I’m here to encourage people to phone in and rise to the occasion and again I fully expect that at the end of the day there will be more than $10,000 donated.”

All of the $75,000 earned is going to be allocated to not for profit groups in the Kenora area.

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