CARLETON PLACE – The Carleton Place Beer Store turned Friday the 13th lucky for those who received care from the Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital (CPDMH).

“Friday the 13th started off on a very positive note for the foundation with a cheque presentation from The Beer Store in Carleton Place for $15,903.35,” CPDMH community engagement coordinator Patricia Gaudreau released in a statement last week.

Board members of the Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital (CPDMH) Foundation attended The Beer Store location in Carleton Place for a cheque presentation on Friday, Nov. 13. Presenting the cheque for $15,903.35 on behalf of The Beer Store were Valerie McNeely, store manager and members of the Carleton Place store team.

Accepting the cheque on behalf of the CPDMH Foundation were board members Joanna Luciano, vice-chair; Esmail Merani, director; Ken Mylrea, treasurer; and Stephen Tunks, director.

The Beer Store held a COVID-19 Community Donation Drive during the months of April through August raising more than $2.38 million for local hospitals and food banks across the province of Ontario. The CPDMH Foundation was very fortunate to have been the chosen by Carleton Place’s The Beer Store as their local charity of choice for the fundraiser. A table was set up outside The Beer Store and patrons were encouraged to leave their empties on the table and proceeds from those empties were to be donated to CPDMH Foundation. Low and behold, our small-town Beer Store outperformed all the stores in the Ottawa district and raised the most money to be donated to their chosen local charity.

“At the onset of the pandemic, our team wanted nothing more than to give back to our community,” stated Valerie McNeely, store manager, The Beer Store, Carleton Place. “Supporting community is a core value at The Beer Store and we take great pride in doing so through bottle drives, empty containers and coin box donation. Our store chose our local hospital and we couldn’t be prouder of our employees and their efforts. The support from our customers with their return donations really added up. The community rallied and our customers were extremely generous knowing that the donations were going to the hospital. We are very proud of our efforts and even prouder to announce that we were the top preforming store in our district giving back to local charities.”

“Fundraising events such as The Beer Store’s Community Donation Drive play an integral part in helping the Foundation provide the hospital with vital funding that is not otherwise covered through the Ministry of Health,” CPDMH Foundation executive director Robyn Arseneau said. “We are very grateful to the Carleton Place store for choosing CPDMH Foundation as their local charity of choice for this fundraiser.”