The final numbers are in, and this year's Niagara Falls Reporter fund drive for Community Missions was the most successful yet. Donors contributed $33,301 during the monthlong effort, said Bruce Battaglia, the newspaper's publisher.
Of that total, $10,000 came from Sevenson Environmental, which gave the campaign a boost before it even began by pledging to match all contributions up to that amount. Another $10,000 was generously kicked in by philanthropists Stephen and Sharon Plumeri.
"I can't think of another charitable drive where you can give one dollar, and by the time it gets to the charity it's turned into three dollars," said Reporter Publisher Bruce Battaglia. "The generosity of the Elia and Plumeri families is overwhelming.
"All the money goes directly to Community Missions," he added. "Not one penny comes out for expenses or anything else."
The Niagara Falls Reporter, Supermarket Liquors & Wines, Mark Bonacci and Don Luce, Theresa M. Scrufari, and the Niagara County Community College Culinary Arts Club donated $1,000 each, with 82 other donors pitching in with a total of $8,301, or more than $100 apiece.
The money will go to Community Missions programs such as the community kitchen and food pantry, crisis housing, services for people with HIV/AIDS, and children's programs, said Mary Lefevre, head of the organization's public relations and fund-raising committee, noting that those efforts are funded wholly by donations.
Last year, about 1,500 people in Niagara County got help from Community Missions, and 63,304 meals were served to the hungry at the agency's soup kitchens.
More information on Community Missions is available by calling (716) 285-3403 or online at www.communitymissions.org.
Battaglia said the yearly fund drive is an example of the newspaper's commitment to the community.
"I think it's consistent with the motto of the Niagara Falls Reporter, 'To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,'" he said. "We like to think that we do both well."
The Reporter fund drive was begun in 2005, and during its first two years raised a total of about $12,000. Things started taking off last year, as the total reached $24,752.
In all, the annual event has raised more than $70,000 for the needy and underprivileged here.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | June 10 2008 |