King’s Head Pub fundraiser hits $45,000
A beloved Exchange District pub is at the heart of a fundraiser started by its customers.
The King’s Head Pub, like many businesses during the pandemic, has struggled as public health orders have reduced operating days and capacities.
To help,fundraiser organizers Kim Wheeler and Natalie Ballentyne asked pub patrons to donate what their average tab would be.
“It had been closed off and on since March of 2020, and then with reduced capacity we just knew they were in trouble,” said Wheeler.
For Wheeler the pub is a special place. Staff attended her wedding, and her daughter got her first job there. She said it’s the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere that draws regulars and different social groups together.
“There are people there I know that would never be friends with me or I would never be in their circles, but you walk through those doors everybody’s family,” Wheeler said.
After speaking to pub staff and owner Chris Graves, all of whom were expressing concern, she thought it was time to help.
So back in May, Wheeler and a friend set up a Go Fund Me page with an original goal of raising $10,000. Three weeks and $12,000 later donations had started to dwindle, with Wheeler thinking it was time to stop the fundraiser.
She didn’t. News of a potential pub closure may have spurred a new round of donations, with Sunday’s Go Fund Me total spiking to $45,000.
“Some people have donated $6 for a glass of beer and other people have been incredibly generous and have donated between $500-750 for a single donation,” said Wheeler.
Despite exceeding the fundraising goal Wheeler said the Go Fund Me will continue if people want to keep donating.
“After 15 months of less than 50 per cent capacity, 25 per cent capacity, completely closed, this barely scratches the surface,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.