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Sudbury charities benefit from cGaming

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Local charities and non-profit groups from around Greater Sudbury have received $2.3 million in the past year from Boardwalk Gaming Centres.
This is a part of the more than $100 million that Ontario Lottery Gaming announced it has raised through Ontario Charitable Gaming, or cGaming since 2005. CGaming has a mission to ensure that proceeds remain the community to benefit citizens through charitable giving.
Some 144 local charities from Sudbury have felt the benefit of this generosity, who say that without the revenue from Boardwalk Gaming, they would have a significant financial void.
The Sudbury Food Bank is one of those non-profit groups that relies on this funding. It receives no government assistance and counts on Boardwalk Gaming's contributions to ensure it can continue to offer essential services to the poor.
"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 to local families who don't have adequate food, Dan Xilon, general manager of the Sudbury Food Bank, said in a release.
Xilon also said that out of the $550,000 they supply to their member agencies for meat and produce purchases in a year, Boardwalk Gaming accounts for about 25 per cent of that revenue.
"That's significant," he said.
Another Sudbury organization that feels the warmth of Boardwalk Gaming's generosity is Maison Vale Hospice, which provides palliative care to those who are terminally ill.
"We are very grateful for the money we receive from Boardwalk Gaming," said Leo Therrien, executive director for the Hospice. "Boardwalk has been donating to the Hospice for more than 20 years."
Therrien said yearly contributions average more than $20,000, all of which goes directly to care of the Hospice's residents.
He also said that if it weren't for consistent contributions from Boardwalk Gaming, the Hospice would have to scramble for funds. For smaller organizations, that could mean total disappearance.
Boardwalk Gaming also donated more than $15,000 to the Sudbury Action Centre for the Youth at the beginning of last year to help support their efforts in delivering assistance to young people in Sudbury through various programs, from employment assistance to harm reduction.
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Twitter: @TheKeenanK
 

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