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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.