With the help of numerous volunteers, a core of organizers and the generous public, Haying in the 30’s once again brought out the best in the community for a weekend of history, heritage and charity.
With 100 per cent of donations for victims of cancer, donations reach the target and do not go wayward like some organizations with top heavy administrative bodies to pay for. A CBC Marketplace investigation going back 12 years showed that while each year the Canadian Cancer Society raised more money, the proportion of money spent on research dropped from 40.3 per cent in 2000 to under 22 per cent in 2011. The money spent on fundraising increased from 26 per cent in 2000 to almost 43 per cent in 2011, according to the report.
While more money is going to research than ten years ago, the proportion of money going to fundraising is nearly double the amount for research, according to the report. The numbers speak to an organization that has lost its way and now works primarily to fund its own great big existence instead of helping to solve cancer.
This is not the case with the home-grown Haying in the 30’s, which does not pay its volunteers and for which the only beneficiaries are those suffering from cancer. The Haying in the 30’s Society and supporters represents true charitable goals and should be applauded. Other organizations would do well to take note of the Society’s success, although, any other group would be hard-pressed to replicate the massive success and community support of Haying in the 30’s.
From wagon rides to the County Creamery, trapper’s cabin, general store, blacksmith, Town Hall and many other attractions, the event also serves to preserve the heritage of the settlers of the Lakeland area, who broke fertile ground and planted the seeds of community that exist today.
