Canning for a Cause

Sandra Hession loves the activity of canning and she also loves selling things. For seven years she has combined these two passions to raise thousands of dollars for TEMBO. In 2018 alone, she raised thousands of dollars for TEMBO by selling her pickles, jams, relishes and cranberry sauce at fundraising events.  Sandra runs ”Canning for a Cause” as a business with the upfront objective of profits going towards helping TEMBO. A retired educational bookseller, Sandra uses her business skills to develop good relationships with producers who sell produce to her at discount prices and to identify venues where she can sell the preserves.

Sandra thinks that there is a big market for home canned products. “People enjoy consumable things and they like that most of the ingredients are local. Most importantly, they love that they are contributing to a good cause.” Many of her customers buy her preserves and give them as gifts. They often request TEMBO promotional flyers so that they can include the TEMBO story with the gift.

At key times of the year, Sandra is a very busy person. With the bounty in the Fall, she is busy making pickles and relishes. At Christmas time every year, she sells her cranberries and sauce at Lady Fatima Church where this past December, she raised $1100 in one day. If she sees a deal on produce, she snaps it up and preserves it. For example, in January, she bought 100 pounds of beets and canned them.

Why does she put so much effort into this endeavour? “I love canning and I love the opportunity to use the business skills that I developed in my career. “And,” she adds, “doing something I love for a good cause magnifies the enjoyment.” Doesn’t it tie up too much time? “I don’t keep track of the hours, only the dollars that I am raising!”

A Little Goes a Long Way

Since 2015, Peterborough residents Lorna Sarbutt, Ann and Peter McCrae and Shirley Reeder have raised thousands of dollars for TEMBO. They have organized yard sales, slide presentations, craft sales and three community dances. In April 2019, this dedicated team sponsored their third dance featuring “The Indian River Band”, a group that enjoys supporting charities. “They play our kind of music,” says Lorna, “which makes everyone get up and dance.” She adds that people come to support TEMBO and stay to “really enjoy the evening.” This year’s dance raised $5000.

Lorna, Ann, Peter and Shirley have all travelled to Longido and volunteered in TEMBO’s  PASS program so they know, first hand, the importance of TEMBO’s work for the lives of girls and women in that community. These volunteers are wonderful examples of caring people who understand that “a little goes a long way.”

From Rough to Riches

Like most golfers, Stewart McKechnie realized that he had far too many golf balls gathering dust in his garage. The solution? He hatched a plan to sell the golf balls and donate the proceeds to TEMBO. He regularly canvasses his golf buddies who give him all their all their unwanted balls. Then he washes and sorts the balls, packaging them in egg containers. By advertising his reasonably priced used balls on Kijiji, he has successfully raised hundreds of dollars each year to support TEMBO’s programs.