A very deserving Winnipeg charity has received what it calls a “windfall” gift of nearly $10,000 from the generosity of the Agriculture Union and its delegates to last month’s Triennial National Convention.
The recipient of this unsolicited donation is Sunshine House, a community-based resource centre that works to increase the health and well-being of the least fortunate Winnipeggers — the homeless, the marginalized, AIDS sufferers and multiple drug users. The downtown centre provides programs, services and educational resources focused on the prevention of chronic and infectious diseases.
Proceeds from a silent auction of more than 50 items, as well as direct donations from delegates, raised $4,785. The Agriculture Union itself matched this amount.
Gus Mardli, a long-time Agriculture Union activist and human rights advocate, brought the charity to the attention of the National Executive. Gus has worked at Sunshine House as a volunteer.
Margaret Ormond, Sunshine House’s Special Projects Manager, wrote a heartfelt letter of thanks to all Agriculture Union members:
“Saying ‘thank you’ seems inadequate. So often Sunshine House approaches funders and donors ‘hat in hand’, explaining at infinite length what we do, and what we are trying to do. You seemed to understand completely what our goals are and how painstaking the process is to realize them in this political climate.
“There is a lovely irony in that the source of the gift is the Agricultural Union and that our vision for Sunshine House is to ‘create the environment where people can grow’. Who better than people working in the agricultural sector to understand this?”
