It was a close call but the Chatham Goodfellows will have a place to call home during their annual holiday campaign.
Earlier in the month, the Goodfellows put out a "dire" appeal for a space volunteers could move into by early November to organize their 2019" No Child Without a Christmas" campaign. For the past two years, they were at the former Fabricland on St. Clair Street in Chatham. However, the storefront got a new tenant, leaving the Goodfellows without a location this year.
That was until John Elliot, president of Honda House in Chatham, stepped up and provided a building for them to use to store, pack and prepare toy deliveries for over 700 families in Chatham and surrounding communities this Christmas.
According to Director Tim Mifflin, the organization is very grateful for all the support they received when they put out their call looking for a location to use.
"We are very pleased with Mr. Elliot from Honda House stepping forward. But, more importantly, we're very pleased with the outstanding support that we received from the different businesses in Chatham-Kent as well as the citizens," said Mifflin.
The building is located at 70 Leeson Dr. in Chatham. Besides needing a large-sized space of 6,000 to 10,000 square feet, there were several other specific building requirements that needed to be met. Mifflin said the location that Elliot provided will wonderfully suit their needs.
"We needed locations to offload the toys that are coming in. We also needed a location that was accessible for the volunteers to drive up and we can load their car," Mifflin explained. "This fills all the checkmarks. We're very fortunate."
The Goodfellows big kick-off to their holiday season starts at their annual meeting in early November. Mifflin said they are all excited for what 2019 will bring.
"We're good to go. We look forward to seeing [everyone] out there this year and seeing the way we have it set up again. it's going to be a great year."