The Friends of Presqu’ile have many sources of funding. There are membership dues, grants, and donations. Some donations go to special funds, such as the Environmental Fund which covers some of our ecology projects. Some donations cover direct costs for items such as our raffle prizes or equipment. Some grants help to subsidize the staffing costs for the park's Discovery Program. For the rest of our expenses, we rely on a variety of fundraising projects. These projects also help to raise awareness about the Friends and our programs. Here are the fundraising projects we ran in the summer of 2023:
Lighthouse Gift Shop- Michelle Buchkowsky
The Friends’ Gift Shop, located in the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre, saw over 10,000 visitors in 2023. It opened for the first full season since 2019 on the May Long Weekend. Our team of volunteers met many visitors, some returning to Presqu’ile Park but many new ones who will be returning. We had weekly visits from some delightful young girls that live on Bayshore, enjoying purchases of jewelry, jujubes, and fudge. We introduced many new items of clothing and jewelry. We offered collectable badges for the youngsters, and a wide variety of toys for children of all ages. Jessie’s Jams were also a great addition to our product line-up and were good sellers.
The Gift Shop also featured works by local artisans including jewelry, ornaments, pebble art, walking sticks, wooden nativity creches, watercolour prints, and note cards. In 2024 we are planning on expanding our art gallery with a variety of paintings, photos and other wall art and, of course, filling the Gift Shop with some new products.
100% of the proceeds of the Friends’ Gift Shop sales remain in Presqu’ile Park to further The Friends’ educational and environmental initiatives.
Fundraising Barbecues – Bob Engley
The Barbecue Team had a busy season. It started last spring, with Waterfowl Weekend and Warblers and Whimbrels Weekend. The weekly barbecues started on Canada Day and ran through Labour Day, with only one rainout – for a total of 13 barbecues. Park visitors enjoyed Saturday lunch, learned a little more about our work, and enjoyed the great summer weather. Many even offered additional donations to The Friends. The team finished the season at Rene’s Home Comfort in Brighton, helping out with their Applefest barbecue. It was our way of saying thanks for their very generous donation of a beautiful Napoleon barbecue. Members of the public kindly filled our donation jar. That money will also go directly toward our programs and projects.
Paddling Around Presqu’ile Raffle – Wayne Meyers
Our 2023 Raffle featured three excellent prizes for the water-lover, a canoe, a paddleboard, and a kayak all with the necessary paddles and safety equipment. We partnered with Canadian Tire, Trenton, who offered donated and discounted prizes. Presqu’ile Park generously donated Park Passes. Over 1,700 tickets were sold at our barbecues, our gift shop, Canadian Tire Trenton, Rolf the Jewelers, and Park Place.
Prize winners were Alex Miller, Kennedy Laufman, and Laura Davidson. All winners were able to collect their prizes in short order; one winner actually headed directly into the park to check out their new canoe!
Our sincere thanks to all of the volunteers who gave countless hours to making sure our fundraising projects were a success.
