Members of the Zukiwsky Group at Scotia Weatlh Management, the Red Deer Food Bank, and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame posed for a picture on Friday afternoon after the Group donated $28,300 to the Red Deer Food Bank at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. (Photo by Ian Gustafson/ rdnewsNOW)

By Ian Gustafson

Helping the Food Bank

Zukiwsky Group donates over $28,000 to Red Deer Food Bank

Oct 18, 2024 | 4:33 PM

On Friday afternoon the Zukiwsky Group at Scotia Wealth Management presented a cheque of $28,300 to the Red Deer Food Bank.

The money was raised at the Group’s first annual Carnivore Car Show last month at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Dion Zukiwsky, lead of the Zukiwsky Group and branch manager, said they are honoured to be able to donate to the Food Bank.

“It was an event that came together as a social thing with our clients, and we thought how could we benefit the community, which the Food Bank came up immediately. We’re so happy to give them a nice donation as a result,” he said.

“We knew the Food Bank was in need and we just thought you know what a great cause that benefits so many people across our community. The timing was just there, and we wanted to support it the best we could.”

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Half of the money was raised at the Carnivore Car Show itself and the other $14,150 was matched by Scotia Wealth Management.

At the event, they raised money through monetary donations from those who attended, local business leaders, and by those who brought their vehicles.

The family event also featured food trucks, a silent auction, live music by Dean Morrison, face-painting, prizes, a 50/50, and a food drive to collect nonperishable items for the Food Bank.

“It was the first time we tried it, and we think it went well. We know a few tweaks that we can make it even better for next year and we’re hoping to make this an annual event,” Zukiwsky added.

“We’re huge believers in supporting the community that we work and live in. We’re going to make sure that it’s always going to some initiative that needs some help at that time.”

Executive director of the Red Deer Food Bank Mitch Thomson, told rdnewsNOW the donation is a tremendous boost for them at a critical time of year.

“When we get into the third quarter of the year in the fall, we’ve stretched donations all the way from the previous Christmas,” he said.

“When the Zukiwsky Group at Scotia Wealth came in and put on the car show they provided some greatly needed resources to help us continue on through the year.”

Currently, the Food Bank is helping approximately 1,200 households per month. This year they have seen close to 30,000 people receive an emergency food hamper.

In addition, over the last six months, 64 per cent of the people who came into the Food Bank only came in once or twice.

Thomson explained the donated funds will go toward emergency food supplies such as milk, margarine, eggs, ground beef, and chicken.

“The Food Bank itself, we honestly spend almost $400,000 per year purchasing groceries. This last year our reserves got a little bit low, so $28,000 will almost supply food for those 1,200 households this month,” he said.

“This is a significant contribution for us.”

For those who would like to help the Food Bank they can do so by food raising, donating food at the grocery store, and by volunteering at the Food Bank. The public can also make monetary donations.