Inaugural Fall for Caledon Meals on Wheels event a resounding success

Fundraising event held at Royal Ambassador Event Centre

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Caledon residents gathered for a night of great food and entertainment last week in support of a local charity. 

On November 7, Caledon Meals on Wheels (CMOW) hosted its inaugural Fall for Caledon Meals on Wheels event, a gala-style fundraising dinner at the Royal Ambassador Event Centre in Caledon East. 

It was well attended by residents, volunteers, dignitaries, and business owners. 

Kim Rodrigues, Executive Director of CMOW, estimated there were over 100 people in attendance. 

Caledon Mayor Annette Groves was one of the attendees at the event and delivered a speech. 

Rodrigues said Groves is a wonderful supporter of CMOW — it comes from experience, as Groves was a volunteer for the charity for about 10 years. 

“She really recognizes the needs of seniors in our community and continues to support us,” said Rodrigues. 

Fall for Caledon Meals on Wheels featured gourmet food, live music, live and silent auctions, and 50/50 and wine basket raffles. 

Rodrigues said she wanted to thank all of the dedicated volunteers who made the event possible, especially the subcommittee of CMOW's volunteer Board of Directors that led the event's planning. She also thanked the many generous sponsors and donors involved.

“Our volunteers put in countless hours to make sure all the details were perfect, we really wanted to leverage the fall theme and the Ambassador is such a beautiful location,” said Rodrigues. 

CMOW had a fundraising goal of $15,000 for the event, and all money raised from it goes directly into subsidizing the cost of meals for seniors in need.

“Our meals are already subsidized, but we have seniors in the community that need a little bit more. We will subsidize anywhere from 25 to 100 per cent for a senior in need; we want to make sure anybody that needs a meal, we'll have it for them,” said Rodrigues. “The cost of living and the cost of food is a real struggle for some in our community.”

Rodrigues said she's thrilled there was such strong interest and support for the inaugural Fall for Caledon Meals on Wheels event and shared there are plans to make it an annual occasion.