HAGERSVILLE—With ground set to be broken this spring, Hagersville’s Active Living Centre + Library project has entered its final phase of fundraising, appealing directly to small businesses and individuals in the community to buy in on the promise of the facility by making a donation towards its completion.
One business owner in the community has answered the call in a big way. Tim Otterman, owner of Tim’s Tirecraft, has generously donated $20,000 to the project, setting the bar high and throwing down the gauntlet for other businesses to step up and pitch in on the community effort.
“I believe we need to help out the community in all kinds of different ways. I believe it’s a good cause, and we need to get more people involved to help out at this time. It’s a community event, and I believe the community should be more involved. Let’s help complete the funding,” said Otterman at a check presentation last Friday.
He continued, “I want to see the community be able to use it for functions. It’s something we’ve lacked the last few years, and I believe as far as kids and parents, just being able to have somewhere to go for events will be great.”
Fundraising Committee Chair Tony Dalimonte thanked Otterman personally, “Tim’s always been a strong supporter of the community. With this large donation that he is making here today, I think it demonstrates very clearly that Tim shares our vision of how beneficial this building will be to Haldimand County at large.”
Dalimonte said that most of the money the committee has raised to date has been corporate donations, “We’re about to kick off our community fundraising campaign where we will be approaching businesses of this size or smaller… Tim has helped us kick that off today very clearly… We hope that will generate some interest and really get the community involved. Small businesses, individual donations coming from residents, it’s helping us kick things off in a big way.”
Otterman has made the biggest splash with his donation, but he is not the only one to step up so far to try and pitch in.
Joining in the fundraising effort is local podcast host Jill Battle, who hosts the popular local health and wellness podcast ‘The Pickle Jar’, and is organizing Haldimand Vibes, a health and wellness expo happening on April 21 at the Caledonia Lions Community Centre from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The event will bring together local fitness businesses such as gyms, yoga instructors, chiropractors, rowing and curling clubs, and more, with Battle informing The Press that the event is accepting donation-based entrance fees from patrons, 100% of which will be donated toward the Active Living Centre + Library.
“Supporting this community project is a perfect fit for the event as it will bring a much-needed centre of support to benefit the health of our entire community,” said Battle on why she decided to contribute.
To make a contribution of your own towards the project, you can contact the Fundraising Committee at 905-768-1260.