The gamble that pays off for local charities

The Ontario Lottery Gaming announced this past week that more than $100 million has been raised through Ontario Charitable Gaming and 1,800 charities have benefitted from gaming since 2005.

In Sudbury, local charity gaming centres – Boardwalk Gaming Sudbury and Boardwalk Gaming Val Caron have provided more than $2.3 million to 144 local charities this past year alone.

Gaming has a mandate to ensure that the proceeds remain in the community to benefit the community and its citizens through charitable giving.

The most significant element of Boardwalk Gaming providing more than $2.3 million to local community charities is that all charities polled agree that without the revenue from Boardwalk Gaming, they would not have another revenue source to fill the large funding void that Boardwalk provides to support their services.

Many charities like the Sudbury Food Bank receive no form of government funding and rely heavily on the funds generated through Boardwalk Gaming to supplement their critical services to their member agencies.

“While canned goods are important to our member agencies, it is the cash donations that the Sudbury Food Bank distributes to our member agencies that helps them purchase fresh produce and high-quality protein for local families who don’t have adequate food,”said Dan Xilon, General Manager of the Sudbury Food Bank.

“The Food Bank distributes over $550,000 in cash to member agencies for fresh meat and produce each year, with Boardwalk Gaming centres supplying almost $125,000 or 25 per cent of that revenue ... that’s significant.”

Léo Therrien, executive director of Maison Vale Hospice, said the $20,000 yearly contribution goes directly to palliative care.

“We are very grateful for the money we receive from Boardwalk Gaming,” said Therrien. "Boardwalk has been donating to the Hospice for more than 20 years."