The Toronto International Riffle & Pistol Club (TIRPC) and the Barrie Gun Club collectively raised over $8K for the Barrie & District Christmas Cheer Campaign this month.
The TIRPC ran its fundraiser for three weeks and was supported by its 265 members. Donations ranged from $20-$1000, raising a grand total of $4,657.20 by Dec.15.
“In the first three hours after announcing it we had $1,300 in donations sent," notes Meghan Bilton, founder and VP of Operations of the club. “In the first three days [we raised] $2,500."
Bilton presented board members of the Barrie Christmas Cheer organization, Cindy Tonn (President of Christmas Cheer) and Dianne Gayler (Applications Director) with a cheque last week, and similarly the Barrie Gun Club also donated an additional $4,000 raised for the same campaign.
This was the TIRPC’s first year doing a Christmas Cheer drive, and Bilton shares that one of the ways the club raised extra funds was by hosting ‘precision rimfire rifle matches’ among its members and donating all of the earnings collected from the matches.
The Barrie Gun Club has been a regular contributor to the Barrie & District Christmas Cheer Campaign for the last several years and prides itself on finding ways to support worthy causes.
Bilton states that both gun clubs usually do ‘charity shoots’ every year but due to Covid both clubs had to find alternate ways to support local charities.
“In general, gun clubs love finding ways to call on their membership” explains Bilton. “We still wanted to find a way to support our communities, so we reached inward to our membership for the support and they didn’t disappoint!”
The TIRPC and Barrie Gun Club;s last charity drive was in October during Thanksgiving where they raised $2,400 for the local food bank and collected and donated over 350 pounds of food.
“We hope to be able to host our charity shoots next year!” adds Bilton.
