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Cloverdale Community Kitchen leaps closer to fundraising goal for Coldest Night of the Year

Co-lead sponsors BC Plant Health Care and Katronis Real Estate push Community Kitchen over $70,000 mark
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Left to right: Edith Katronis and Jonathan Katronis of Katronis Real Estate, Courtney van den Boogaard and Matthew Campbell of the Cloverdale Community Kitchen, and Reid Hardman and Teddie Hoegler of BC Plant Health Care pause for a picture on 176th Street Jan. 28. Both Katronis Real Estate and BC Plant Health Care donated $5,000 each to become co-lead sponsors for the Cloverdale Community Kitchen’s Coldest Night of the Year fundraising initiative. (Photo: Malin Jordan)

The Cloverdale Community Kitchen’s drive to raise funds as part of its Coldest Night of the Year initiative just got a major boost.

Two new donors have now catapulted the Kitchen over the $70,000 mark and into first place overall in Canada, leapfrogging former frontrunners Mosaic Interfaith from Richmond Hill, Ont.

“The two donors who stepped up to be co-lead sponsors of Coldest Night of the Year 2021 Surrey-Cloverdale location are Katronis Real Estate ($5,000) and BC Plant Health Care ($5,000),” said Courtney van den Boogaard, director of communications for CCK. “Both companies are local family owned businesses.”

Edith Katronis of Katronis Real Estate said she was happy to donate to such “a great cause” in Cloverdale.

“(The Kitchen) does so much to help people in this community.”

Katronis said she’s gone—pre-COVID—to the dinners the Community Kitchen hosts and seen first-hand what amazing work they do for the needy.

SEE ALSO: Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser to support Cloverdale Community Kitchen

She noted that people aren’t just eating at these dinners, they are socializing with each other and having a great time.

“They love to talk and they love to share their stories,” she said. “Most of these people are in the predicament they’re in just because of bad luck in life.”

She also recognized CCK’s outreach. “It stretches out further than just Cloverdale now; it’s all around the area.”

Reid Hardman, operations manager for BC Plant Health Care, said his company has been involved with the Community Kitchen for several years.

“We feel the local community is the roots and soul of our business,” explained Hardman. “We like to give back to the community. We believe in what they do and we believe they bring a lot of positivity to the local area.”

He said a lot of companies and a lot of charities are struggling this year. Because of this, BC Plant Health Care thought it even more important help out in any way they could.

“We thought now was a great time to give back what we can. It’s important we stick together as a community.”

Matthew Campbell, CCK director, said it feels great knowing how much the community has come forward to help the less fortunate during such trying times.

“When we started Coldest Night of the Year during the pandemic, we were quite nervous. We didn’t know what kind of a response we’d get.”

The recent donations have moved the Kitchen much nearer its donation goal of $100,000.

“People have been very generous, but it’s going to be tougher to meet our goals (this year) than it has been in other years—finding sponsors, finding people with the ability to give.”

Campbell said despite that, he thinks the Community Kitchen will hit that $100k mark.

“Our community is very generous. We’re really glad to be in a great community like Cloverdale—and Surrey and Langley—that gives back so much and has people that are so willing to help.”

Coldest Night of the Year is Feb. 20. It’s temporarily scheduled to be a hybrid event with both a virtual and an in-person option for walkers.

Van den Boogaard said they’ll decide exactly how Coldest Night will play out after the Feb. 5 health update from the Provincial Health Office.

“Cloverdale will be hosting a blended event with both a COVID-safe, outdoor-only event (if limits of assembly allow), and a virtual option where people can walk from home.”

She’s asking supporters to visit their website to keep up with the latest info.

Coldest Night of the Year is a nationwide event that sees thousands of people take part in nearly 150 communities across Canada.

Along with co-lead sponsors BC Plant Health Care and Katronis Real Estate, here is a list of the Kitchen’s 2021 business sponsors so far: South Coast Growers’ Supplies Inc., Malary’s Fashion Network, Zinetti Foods, Michauds Salon Spa & Wellness Centre, Accurpress, Cascade Capital Machine Sales, Magnum Nutraceuticals, Atkinson Landscaping, MacMillan Tucker Law Office, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Tree of Life, Ola Fit for Life, Envision Financial Cloverdale, Sugar’d Cloverdale, and Lotus Terminals.

The Cloverdale Community Kitchen is located at 5337 180th Street. For more info on Coldest Night or the Kitchen, visit mycck.ca.



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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Malin Jordan

About the Author: Malin Jordan

Malin is the editor of the Cloverdale Reporter.
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