Ten cents from every litre of fuel purchased from a Lake Country Co-op gas bar on Tuesday will be donated to a local charity. (Lake Country Co-op/Facebook)

By Trevor Redden

Fueling the Community

Lake Country Co-op fueling local charities

Sep 14, 2020 | 11:02 AM

Bring your car, truck, boat, lawn mower, or gas jug to support a great local cause.

Lake Country Co-op’s Fuel Good Day goes Tuesday all across the region, giving you the opportunity to help a local charity while filling your tank. At all gas bar locations, 10 cents per litre will be donated to a local charity, chosen through an application process earlier this year.

In Prince Albert, the chosen charity is Big Brothers Big Sisters [BBBS] of Prince Albert. Jill Dumanksi, director of marketing and community relations with Lake Country Co-op, said BBBS is a worthy recipient.

“We like to pick charities that we haven’t donated to in the last couple years and are really impactful in the community. BBBS, when they applied, we thought they were a fantastic charity to partner with. Since they applied, we’ve been talking to them a lot about what we can do to help them in the future as well,” Dumanski said.

The other recipients around the region will be La Ronge and Area Kidsport, the Kinsmen Club of Shellbrook, Torch River Riders Inc. in Choiceland, and Handiworks in Nipawin.

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“All the charities are great, it’s so hard to choose from each year but we learn more about them [through the application process] so if we don’t choose them for Fuel Good Day, we know who to contribute to through other initiatives throughout the year,” Dumanski detailed.

Last year, Lake Country Co-op donated $10,322 to five local charities on Fuel Good Day, but Dumanski noted that was before the acquisition of Pineland Co-op in Nipawin and Choiceland, which expanded the region. Furthermore, the donation has gone up from five cents per litre last year to 10 cents this year.

“We think it should be about double if we get the support. All people have to do is fill up, and they make the donation to [their local charity] so we hope people fill up tomorrow,” Dumanski said.

For charitable organizations, COVID-19 has made fundraising difficult in 2020. For BBBS, being a part of Fuel Good Day is a significant boost.

Natasha Thomson, development coordinator with BBBS of Prince Albert, explained what they’re up against this year.

“We are definitely in need of funding this year. It’s been a challenging year for us because of the pandemic, and we are very excited to be working with Co-op on this fundraiser,” Thomson said. “A large part of our fundraising is events, and we’ve had to cancel or scale down our fundraising events which made a huge impact on our budget for the upcoming year.”

For their part, BBBS is offering further incentive for people in the region to stop by Co-op to fuel up on Tuesday. There will be a free raffle at the Cornerstone location with a Raider jersey and a child bike on raffle. Furthermore, everybody who fuels up is encouraged to post a photo on social media and tag the organization for the chance to win a $150 gift card from Lake Country Co-op.

BBBS is a mentorship program that connects at-risk youth in the community to adults who can provide a stable relationship to assist in their development as a healthy young person.

Thomson said the needed funds go toward providing a low-cost program for all involved, while ensuring that matches are made safely, volunteers are supported and trained, and monitored by staff. The organization also provides some activities and overall support to families and volunteers.

BBBS has more children waiting than they have volunteers, so Thomson encouraged anybody interested in becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister to sign up.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca