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Family, CFSEA create endowment fund for SPCA to honour parents

Nov 15, 2017 | 2:34 PM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat SPCA will receive ongoing funding, thanks to a donation from a local family.

An endowment fund has been created through the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta (CFSEA), following a $20,000 donation from the children of Vic and Helen Appleton, whose name will be on the fund.

“SPCA was always an important charity to mom and dad, and it’s a great way to leave a legacy for them,” said Joanne Stickle one of Vic and Helen’s daughters, who was on hand for the ceremony

The donation will be invested, and the investment income will be donated to the SPCA in perpetuity. The money came from the estate of Helen, who passed away earlier this year.

“It can provide cash for the SPCA, which has been a little under-funded, yet provides services of all of the City of Medicine Hat, “said Stickle. “So, what better place than to give it to the sPCA, when it was so important to mom and dad.”

Stickle says her parents adopted animals through the shelter throughout their lives, and her sister, Susan Pahl, was on the SPCA board of directors in the early days of the organization.

Katie Ayres, executive director of the SPCA, says the organization is proud and excited to receive the endowment, noting it’s a first for the organization.

“It’s a sustainable income, and that’s something for most non-profits that’s really hard to be able to predict, what sort of funds you’ll be able to bring in year after year,” she said. “An endowment fund is a good way to have a sustainable source of revenue.”

Ayres says the money from the endowment fund will most likely be used for day-to-day operation costs.