Award winning ‘Donate a Plate’ a “beacon of light” in the community

Written By MARNI WALSH

Bill Gillam and his staff at Shelburne Home Hardware were awarded the Sponsor of the Year award by the Children's Foundation at their Around the World Gala in October.  

The annual award is presented to an organization that “goes above and beyond the normal bounds of generosity to empower children for lifelong change and help to break the cycle of poverty.”

“The award was a surprise and it's a wonderful feeling that the ‘Donate A Plate' has made an impact from its start five years ago,” says Bill Gillam. “Being recognized as Sponsor of The Year is an honour and I appreciate the recognition from the Children's Foundation. I'm happy to announce that the five local schools love the program and are benefiting from school moral and inclusion that all can use every day.”

Karyn Kirkwood of the Children's Foundation says, “Bill's commitment to ensuring children have healthy food to fuel their school day has meant thousands of youth have been able to focus on learning rather than being distracted by their hunger. We consider Bill and Shelburne Home Hardware to be a beacon of light in our community.”

“Healthy minds means healthy decisions,” says Bill Gillam, “and I thank the community for support - donating every December - which I match dollar for dollar. Having the accumulative total hit $55,000 is truly amazing. Our goal is to have $12,500 for December and I'd love to match that and hit the $75,000 mark for five years,” he says.

Award winners are nominated and voted on by the staff of the Children's Foundation, along with voting from CF's Board of Directors. Heather Verpaalen has worked closely with Bill Gillam and his staff over the years, and it was she who nominated Shelburne Home Hardware for their Donate a Plate initiative. 

As the Food & Friends Student Nutrition Program Manager for East Wellington and Dufferin County schools, Ms. Verpaalen witnessed, first hand, the effort and generosity of Shelburne Home Hardware for local kids.

 “I hear every week from the families whose kids talk about how much fun they have had at breakfast,” says Bill Gillam. “The kids make several posters all year long and I display them in my store for all the kids to be proud of. They all come in the store and love to see their artwork and say hi and thank you to all our staff,” he says. “It is all worth the smiles on the faces of the families and the kids everyday.”