CRA debt cleared by The Gathering Place without missing a lunch
The Gathering Place says it has paid off its $465,000 debt to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Officials say less than two years ago that debt threatened to close the community kitchen.
They add through all of it, the doors stayed open, and not a single weekday lunch was missed.
“This debt was the anchor around our neck,” says Peter Gregory, Chair of The Gathering Place Board of Directors. “Today it’s gone. We went back to where we came from, the grassroots, and that means volunteers, partners and neighbours. Rebuilding the community’s trust without skipping one lunch has been an incredible task. I can’t thank our team, our board leadership and the many partners who came to the table enough. Because of them, the people we serve did not go without.”
To get there, the Gathering Place:
- Cut operating costs nearly in half, from about $1.05 million to $544,000 in a single year
- Reduced wages and benefits by 60 per cent, and ended warming centre operations
- Scaled back breakfast, dinner, take-away meals and outreach programs so every resource could go to the core lunch service
- Replaced paid services with partnerships and bartering wherever possible, from IT support to garbage collection
- Negotiated and honoured a repayment plan with the CRA, restructured the charity’s financing, and secured taxpayer relief on interest and penalties
- Kept the traditional lunch service running every weekday throughout, without interruption
Of note, officials say donations and fundraising rose 18 per cent, to almost $461,000, thanks to community support and events like Coldest Night of the Year, Soup’s On and the Davedi Club spaghetti dinner.
Over the past year, The Gathering Place also rescued about 182,000 pounds of surplus food from area grocers and partners and shares it with youth centres, shelters, group homes, and church and student food banks across the city.
Looking ahead, The Gathering Place is focused on long-term stability and on continuing to serve the growing number of North Bay residents facing food insecurity.
They’re welcoming interested volunteers and community partners, along with donations, which can be made at thegatheringplacenorthbay.ca or in person at 1181 Cassells Street.
Richard Coffinhttps://www.mynorthbaynow.com/Richard Coffin has been a reporter and news anchor on the radio in North Bay for over 25 years. From premiers to people in the neighbourhood, he enjoys connecting with newsmakers and writing stories that matter to area listeners on a variety of topics including healthcare, education, politics, sports and more.
