Dozens of community groups were getting reacquainted at this year’s Heart of the Crater fundraiser with the Sudbury Community Foundation. “Everyone is so busy and this is an opportunity for people to come together in one room, get to know a variety of different individuals, and just kind of really leaving what that sense of what we can do when we work together,” said Shelley Lachapelle, executive director of the Sudbury Community Foundation. The event is about building connections, such as the recently launched partnership between Meals on Wheels and the SPCA, where the two deliver food to both people and pets. However, the two organizations agree the event offers even more opportunities. “I think it will help foster several different new partnerships,” said Tammi Lear, executive director of Meals on Wheels. “I’ve already had a few people come and talk to me about developing some new things.” Emma Bailey with the SPCA said it’s important for groups to connect. “So even through our Meals on Wheels connection, where we’re handing out pet food, we’re able to make a connection with the volunteer groomer that was able to help one of our clients,” Bailey said. “This is amazing to get known and to make connections, to build partnerships,” added Chantal Makela of the Sudbury Women’s Centre. “I’m very much a supporter, as we can’t do this alone.” Beyond making connections, the event shows the faces behind the causes at local charities, like Oluremi Ogundimu, who has a bursary named after her. “The support has been there,” Ogundimu said. “Those who are supporting us, we really see that we are really putting things out and giving this money to help the young ones, and that the more we do, the better, not just for us, but for our community as a whole.” Each charity detailed where donations go and what they do to support the community. “The difference that they’re making, the clients that they’re serving, the people that they’re helping in our community,” said Lachapelle. “Because collectively we work together. That’s when our community is really going to thrive.”
