Funds for OEV top $150K, as Tim Hortons kicks in $33K
Community working on an application process to distribute money based on need
The tally is in.
So far, a total of $150,000 has been raised through individual and corporate donations for people impacted by the Aug. 14 explosion in London's Old East Village.
For the past two weeks, Londoners have showed their support by donating thousands of dollars to help those who lost their homes or were displaced after a car crashed into a home on Woodman Avenue, rupturing a gas line and set off an explosion that destroyed three homes and damaged several others. The young woman driving the car is facing multiple impaired driving charges.
How the money is being distributed
Last week, the Old East Village Community Association announced that $50,000 had been released to the people affected by the explosion. Families who are unable to move back in to their homes received $2,000, while those who were evacuated from their homes each received $250 in cash to cover money spent in the first 24 hours of being away from home.
"The rest of the money is going to be made available to the families affected on a needs basis based on the direct financial impact that isn't covered by insurance or in some other way," said Kate Graham, a volunteer with the Old East Village Community Association.
In many cases, families who are affected by tragedies like this may not know what they'll need for quite some time and that's why those looking over the funds hope to release the money over a six-month period.
"It takes a while to have contractors come into the home, to have insurance come in and do inspections, so that's why this fundraising effort is so important because for many of these families it's a long road ahead and we want to make sure that support is available," said Graham.
The group of community partners who have helped in collecting and distributing funds is working to set up an application process in the next few weeks in order to make the rest of the donations accessible to the families who need it.
"We'll need some information [from the families] so we can assure the funds are distributed equitably and fairly and also so we can assure transparency," Graham said " At the end of the day we'll want to be able to share how this funding, that was so generously given by many Londoners, was used," she added.
Donations continue to pour in
On Tuesday, Tim Hortons donated $33,000, bringing the total to $150,000.
These funds were raised by different Tim Hortons franchise owners across the city as well as the company's corporate office.
Chris Sparling is the owner of the Tims location on Dundas Street and Egerton Street, located right in front of Woodman Avenue.
After seeing what had happened in the neighbourhood, he felt it was necessary to help.
"These people are all our guests. They come here and support us and I think it's important to give back," he said. "This is all hands on deck, so anything that we can do, we'll do," Sparling added.