A local charity that is addressing homelessness in the Wallaceburg-area is looking to grow its efforts thanks to a generous donation from a fundraising golf tournament.
The Steve Bilodeau Memorial Golf Tournament, held at Maple City Golf Club on June 23, presented a cheque for $70,508.60 to ROCK MISSIONS and The James St Drop-in Centre in Wallaceburg on Friday, July 21.
Chantelle Bilodeau told CK News Today that her dad, Steve Bilodeau, was born and raised in Wallaceburg and always took great pride in supporting the community and operating businesses in Wallaceburg.
She said one of his final wishes before he died in 2022 was to see a homeless shelter continue to grow in the Wallaceburg community.
"When it came to ROCK Mission a few weeks before he passed, he and my mom were having a conversation, and he just kind of out of nowhere just said we need to get a homeless shelter in Wallaceburg," said Chantelle. "He wanted to support community members and was always a very, very strong supporter of different organizations that help people who are less fortunate or need a helping hand to help."
About 150 golfers took part in the tournament.
The money raised from the tournament will be used for future projects at the Centre in Wallaceburg, located on James St.
"We are working very closely with Renee Geniole from R.O.C.K. Missions, and our goal is to develop the program here and create some development projects that will help the community grow," said Chantelle.