A $50,000 donation from a London, Ont., business is going to go a long way towards helping families in the London area in need of a place to stay.
Lewkowitz Financial donated the five-figure donation to Mission Services of London (MSL), Rotholme Family Shelter and is challenging others to match it.
Lewkowitz Financial owner Robert Lewkowitz says he knows how easy it is for people to fall on hard times.
“So many of us can be one step away from needing that kind of help. I have seen people who had successful lives and then things change on a dime, and then they go through really rough patches and Mission Services has been instrumental in helping them turn their lives around,” Lewkowitz said.
The funding will be used to help the shelter in a variety of ways, from continuing to run current programs to helping with some much-needed renovations.
“It’s an old building. We will be using it for a bit of renovation and a few different things, so it will go a long way,” said Mike Toth, director of shelters for MSL.
Rotholme Family Shelter is the only family shelter in the southwest region, with 20 rooms for families.
“The families we have here are families who used to live next door to us. These are families who have gone through troubled times,” Toth said.
“We have to remember these are our neighbours and our friends.”
This announcement comes in the wake of the City of London announcing a number of shelter beds throughout the city would be reduced.
How these changes will impact Mission Services is not yet known, but Toth said they have submitted their proposal.
Anyone wanting to donate to Lewkowitz Financial Challenge to support Rotholme Family Shelter can find all their information on Mission Services website.