A local charity haunted house is looking for more support.
The Team Garber Charity Haunted House was forced to make some changes this year due to the pandemic.
Gone are the driveway maze and haunted garage walk-through; however, the display is still up. Founder Mitch Garber says they still need your donations.
As Garber says, each year, they collect donations for the Kidney Foundation of Canada. Garber is an avid supporter of the Foundation as someone who was diagnosed with kidney disease. According to him, it has not been the easiest year for the Foundation. COVID-19 has impacted their events in 2020 to a significant degree. The Foundation’s annual walk, a major fundraiser, “took a beating” after going virtual in most of its locations.
The trend is holding true for Garber and his haunted house.
Team Garber raised roughly $15,000 in donations (thanks in part to a $5,000 from the Knights of Columbus). He says he typically gets a few thousand at the door on Halloween. This year, with the donation box at the front door, they’ve only raised a few HUNDRED dollars (that’s not including online donations).
He says the lack of interaction with the community is hurting their donations.
Garber doesn’t believe the issue this year is due to people being tight financially from the pandemic. He understands that some people may be struggling more with how the world is going, but he has seen Milton come through this year and surpass expectations for many different local businesses, charities, and organizations. He’s not asking for the world, just the change out of your pocket.
At the time of writing, the Team Garber Charity Haunted House is at $3,270 raised online, plus the several hundred dollars in the donation box at the house. Garber says he’d like to reach his $10,000 goal, and hopes Halloween this weekend will be a big improvement.
As mentioned, all donations will go to support the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
You can follow along with the haunted house online by checking out its Facebook page. You can also donate directly here.
