CAYUGA—The rain tried but it couldn’t put a damper on Haldimand Motor’s 2024 Great Donate & Giveaway.
The event – originally billed as the 2024 Great Tricycle Race – pivoted when it looked like thunderstorms would likely interfere with the outdoor races.
Amy Huitema, General Manager for Haldimand Motors, told The Haldimand Press that despite the last minute changes, the event gave out a total of $38,200 that is being distributed to 10 service clubs, 10 fire stations, and 12 churches that registered in advance to compete. Each church will receive $850, each service club will receive $1,550, and each fire station will get $1,250, she noted.
As people dropped off their food bank donations, they also had the chance to get some delicious food such as the pies being sold by Community Living Haldimand, a snack table from the Cayuga United Church, and the Lions Food Truck was also on hand to keep visitors fed.
CAYUGA—Erring on the side of caution and with reluctance, the Great Tricycle Race was cancelled for the first time in 25 years under the threat of lightning. In its place, the Great Donate & Giveaway was launched on Friday, September 6, 2024. Ally Gibson, Jennifer Glenney, and Bruce Upham were among 40 volunteers collecting food and cash donations for local food banks in exchange for prize tickets. —Haldimand Press photos by Randy Carter. 
At the Community Living bake sale is Sherry Gifford and Julia Knijnenburg. 
Scott Brunton, Kathy Brunton, and Anne Domjan of the Caledonia Food Bank assist Bill Bone with his donation. 
Cayuga United Church representatives Donalda Mitchell, Marg Wilson, Aase Buckle, and Kim Drebert. 
Haldimand Motors volunteers Sandy Burgess and Irene Barton waiting for donations with prize tickets in hand.
Huitema said the event was “very successful.”
The food collected was then distributed to the five food banks in Haldimand County. Huitema said she did not have a total weight for the food gathered, but the Salvation Army in Dunnville posted on Facebook they had received 1,251 pounds of food.
In addition to the awesome door prizes, the Haldimand Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment challenged Haldimand Motors, Haldimand EMS, and Synder’s Corn to a corn eating contest, with the corn donated by Snyder’s.
Huitema said her father, former Haldimand Motors General Manager John Edelman, won the contest on behalf of Haldimand Motors. The contest raised $1,672 in support of the food banks, while an additional $3,500 approximately was collected from event visitors. Huitema noted they are still working on distributing those funds and added they would likely top up the amount.
“I want to thank Haldimand County,” she said, adding that despite the bad weather “still everybody came. They showed great support. And so even though we pivoted last minute – just even the encouragement we got because it was a hard decision to make to pivot it to no races.
“The encouragement we got from everybody was just fantastic. It was great to see the community come together to support the food banks.”
A full list of event prize winners and winning tickets can be found on the Haldimand Motor’s Facebook page at facebook.com/HaldimandMotorsLtd.
