Windsor Goodfellows two-year streak

By Ryan Jones

For the second year in a row, the Windsor Goodfellows have exceeded its fundraising goal.  

 

Every year near Christmas, around 600 Windsor Goodfellows volunteers take to the streets for three days, newspapers in hand, to raise money for families in need and provide them with gifts and food for the holiday season.

 

This year was the 104th edition and the organization surpassed its original fundraising goal by $12,000. What was supposed to accumulate to $275,000 had grown to $287,254.

 

For Kiana Modolo, a University of Windsor student, Windsor Goodfellows hold a sentimental place in her life. She said she has been supporting Windsor Goodfellows since she was a little girl and thinks it is a great organization.

 

“Growing up, I remember my mom telling me about her father buying the papers. He used to purchase the papers every time he saw a volunteer. I never met him; he passed away 30 years ago. Purchasing the papers is one of the ways I feel connected to him and it makes me proud to support something that has such a great meaning to my family,” said Modolo.

 

Bruce Tait is the past president of Windsor Goodfellows. He said he has been on the board since 1994 and has been selling newspapers since 1979.

 

“We’ve been here since 1910, that’s when the Goodfellows was founded. We started with just a Christmas box only. In 1914 the Windsor Star, or the Border City Star, provided a first Goodfellow edition of the paper. The people started using that as fundraising,” said Tate.

 

Tate said there were more sales last year, but that Windsor Goodfellows as a whole are thankful for the support of the Windsor-Essex community.

 

“For probably about 15 years our goal was $250,000. We finally surpassed that last year for the first time. We made just about $300, 129, which we thought was just the coming together of a perfect year. And this year we raised our goal to $275,000 and again we exceeded that with $287, 200,” said Tate.

 

He said that with each year there has been a better response.

 

What will next year bring?