The St. Davids Firefighters Association bought Red Roof Retreat a $9,000 riding mower Thursday, covering an equipment cost the charity says it cannot spare from its $4.3-million building project.
Association members presented the zero-turn machine July 2 at Red Roof’s 11-acre property on Concession 6 Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The mower is the largest piece of more than $18,000 the St. Davids Firefighters are donating this year.
Red Roof, which provides respite and recreation programs for about 200 families of children and young adults with special needs, is directing nearly all of its money into a new 5,700-square-foot respite house currently under construction on the property.
The charity’s old mower demanded constant repairs and had become unreliable, said founder Steffanie Bjorgan. Replacing it was an expense Red Roof could not take on itself right now.
“We saved ourselves a whole bunch of cash at a time where most of our cash is getting into the house,” she said.
The machine will cut walking paths and play areas around the property, which also contains a hobby farm and four horses. Regular cutting along the working paths keeps ticks back from the children who use them, and an 11-acre site cannot be maintained by push mower, said Bjorgan.
The St. Davids firefighters raised the money through its monthly breakfasts at the St. Davids fire hall, which run nine months of the year, and its annual turkey raffle. J & S Performance, a Niagara-on-the-Lake business, cut the group a deal on the mower to make the purchase possible.
Bjorgan said she will retire the old machine without regret.
“It’s one mower that blows the grass out front and directly into my face. So I won’t miss that mower,” she said.
The firefighters chose Red Roof and the other recipients by a vote at one of their meetings, said Steve Roy, president of the association.
“Each member put forth a prospective donor and then after that we just voted on it,” said Roy.
The St. Davids firefighters gave mainly to minor sports in past years. This year the list grew to include Birchway Niagara, Gillian’s Place, Niagara Palliative Care and other local causes, said Rob MacLeod, secretary-treasurer of the association.
The mower arrives during the largest expansion in Red Roof’s 26-year history. The charity is replacing its 1,100-square-foot bungalow with a two-storey building that will raise its capacity by more than 50 per cent.
The campaign passed $4 million in April, leaving about $300,000 to go. The exterior of the new house is largely complete and crews are working on the interior.
Red Roof aims to open the building later this year, if fundraising holds its pace.
