BCAT News

A bright spot from 2020 was the People Helping People Capital Grille Raffle which organizers hail as the best year ever for the annual fundraiser.

The Town of Burlington has always supported the People Helping People organization and the Burlington Food Pantry however according to People Helping People Board Member Janet Sullvan in 2020 the community really made an effort to champion the cause.

“What people have done for People Helping People this year is off the charts,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan said the Burlington Residents Facebook page was a big part of this year’s contributions, which more than doubled the yearly average.

“Everytime I posted on that page I would sell a ton of tickets,” Sullivan said.

The winning ticket was pulled the first week of January. Even with restaurants facing troubled times Capital Grille is set to provide its usual donation of a dinner for 6 with their fine wine. Capital Grille Managing Partner Adam Mackler spoke on their yearly contributions.

“We have been a part of the People Helping People raffle for 10 years. It is one of our favorite charities that we work with that does so much for our community,” Mackler said.

Funds raised by the raffle go to the Burlington Food Pantry to provide families and seniors with gift cards. Sullivan explained that based on the number of people in a given family they receive gift cards with enough to buy food for the whole family.

“So instead of trying to give everybody a turkey or ham for Christmas we gave a gift card so you could go buy your own groceries,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan praised the generosity and outpouring of donations by the people and business of Burlington during a year when many struggled.

“This year the community really rallied and showed such support for families in need that it was overwhelmingly wonderful.” Sullivan lauded.

Sullivan reiterated that the bulk of the tickets sold came from Sullivan posting about the raffle on the Burlington Residents Facebook.

Due to restrictions of the pandemic the People Helping People annual spring wine tasting fundraiser will not take place this year however they are fielding options for a spring 2021 fundraising event.