Archived_Member16
SPNer
Radio station raises $100K for food bank
Chris Clay
November 14, 2011
Mississauga radio station CJMR 1320 AM took to the airwaves last Thursday to help raise funds for a local food bank.
Producers at the station wanted to come up with a unique way to celebrate the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who founded Sikhism. They settled on holding an 18-hour, commercial-free radiothon, raising more than $100,000 in pledges for Seva Food Bank.
The station's management donated $10,000 to the total.
"This year, we really wanted to find a way to put Guru Nanak's message of equality, social justice and service into practice," said CJMR host Kuldeep Deepak. "When we heard about the great things happening at the Seva Food Bank, we knew that we'd found the organization to support."
The food bank is an initiative of the not-for-profit Sikhs Serving Canada group, with a goal of serving the community following the Sikh tenets of sarbat da bhalla (the well-being of all) and seva (selfless service).
It opened last year and distributes some 20,000 pounds of food each month to more than 600 clients and their families.
On Saturday, the radio station held a food drive, collecting 60,000 pounds of food for Seva.
"The response has been just outstanding," said food bank organizer Gurmeet Singh Ahluwalia. "It's amazing to see such a sense of community and outpouring of support to provide food for local families in need."
cclay@mississauga.net
source: http://www.mississauga.com/community/community/article/1244195