Still a traditional lumber yard, Turkstra Lumber has become so much more while still maintaining the traditional values set forth by the founder, Peter Turkstra Sr. The charitable arm of the business, the Turkstra Lumber Foundation, continues to develop and find new ways to support the communities where they provide quality services and building products, by working with various community outreach programs, such as food banks and after school programs.
Pictured above (L to R): Students; Gia Verellen, Assistant Manager at Turkstra Lumber Brantford; Nancy Waldschmidt, Brant Food For Thought; Glenn Gaudet, Board President, Brant Food For Thought; students; Walter Gretzky Elementary Principal Jeannette Marry and Vice-Principal, Peter Harris.
“The $5,000 grant from the Turkstra Lumber Foundation, administered through the Hamilton Community Foundation, is helping Brant Food For Thought scale up operations and launch a new healthy snacks nutrition program for the students at Walter Gretzky Elementary School,” expressed Gisèle Budgell, Program Director at Brant Food For Thought. “We are grateful to be the recipient of this generous grant.”
Assistant Manager, Gia Verellen, from the Turkstra Lumber Brantford branch, was on location at Walter Gretzky Elementary for the presentation and spoke very highly of our programs. “Brant Food For Thought qualified for this donation since their mission meets all three granting criteria at Turkstra,” shared Verellen. “We are happy to support the start-up of a new student nutrition program at Walter Gretzky Elementary School.”
Students at the school presented a handmade card of gratitude to Ms. Verellen in appreciation of the support from Turkstra Lumber.
One of the core values at Brant Food For Thought is that the community has a responsibility for the health and well-being of our children. Turkstra Lumber demonstrated this today by their generous gift. In supporting Brant Food For Thought, they are helping to alleviate in-school hunger, to contribute to the long-term health outcomes of children and youth and to maximize their learning success at school.