Haying in the 30’s Cancer Support Society located in Mallaig has made yet another difficult decision regarding their annual two-day fundraising event due to COVID.
“We want to be able to provide the same quality event as we did prior to the pandemic, and we do not feel that would be possible this year, so the board has decided to cancel this year’s annual event,” said president Martin Naundorf, “there are just too many uncertainties around the restrictions for the number of people we have attending for those two days.”
The event is usually held during the August Heritage Day weekend and is funded by sponsors and volunteers. The free camping event usually requires 250-300 volunteers and offers demos of hay cutting with a horse-drawn mower, hay baling by horsepower, threshing grain, welding etc. Live music and food is provided free of charge. Attendees can visit the multiple staged businesses in the village, for example the RCMP building, Barbershop, Weaving shop, Blacksmith shop, Archive building and much more.
During the downtime the society plans to continue making improvements to the site over the summer, which will include adding in new buildings, such as a shed, windmill grinder, donation centre and completing a kitchen expansion.
The Haying in the 30’s Society has helped individuals battling cancer since 1999 when it was founded by Edgar Corbiere. Last year, the society helped 334 individuals which totalled $334,000. Since January of this year, the Society has helped 200 cancer victims totalling $200,000.
Naundorf commented that donations to the society are still coming in strong, but there are a lot of people to help.
“We are still able to help approximately 35 cancer patients a month which amounts to $35,000 a month, but cancer is not going anywhere, there is always someone who needs assistance,” commented Naundorf.
Haying in the ’30s is now able to accept donations through e-transfer. The email address is hayinginthe30s@gmail.com, and no security question or answer is needed. If you would like a tax receipt, you can provide your name, address and email in the message portion of the e-transfer and the receipt will be emailed to you. Donations can also be made by cheque and a tax receipt is available for all donations over $25. One hundred per cent of the donations received by the Society are given to cancer victims for support during their treatment.
Naudorf also mentioned that the society always needs volunteers and that they are so appreciative for the volunteers they have and to anyone who donates to their society so they can continue helping cancer patients. For more information on Haying in the 30’s you can visit https://www.hayinginthe30s.com/