The Lunenburg Charity Fund Inc. began in 2007 prior to the centennial event for the Town of Kenbridge in 2008.

“We wanted to practice some of the events in advance, and the Wild Game Cook Off (was one of) the first major events that we wanted to tackle,” said Steve Israel, the president of the organization. “In doing so, we charged for the food and we had a competition amongst cooks and all the money, all the profits we wanted to go to charity and we wanted it to go to charity in the county of Lunenburg.”

Israel said following that, organizers established a 501C3 nonprofit in order to continue giving to charities.

“For the next, it was five or six years … we had a huge event for the centennial that we raised I think, at the time, $30,000 went into the charity fund. That was the main successful event,” Israel said. “Subsequent years we’ve raised only about, it averages around ($7-8,000)… a year.”

He said the organization gives away all money that they raise except enough to keep the checking account open.

“The principal places we support are the food banks, the two Salvation Army Food Banks, in Victoria and Kenbridge, and the People’s Community Center is a food bank in Victoria,” Israel said. “Those three traditionally got a fair share, you know, a couple thousand dollars a year for that.”

He said they’ve also supported libraries in Lunenburg and Lunenburg Health Services.

“We supported the 4-H Club, in other words we sent, every year they send kids to, you know, like a summer event and we support that,” Israel said.

According to Israel, each year the organization has events, including concerts that they can sell tickets for and raise money.

“The other thing we support is we provide teaching events at the schools where we fund these very interesting people to come in and do musical events that teach math or musical events that teach some sort of aspect of English grammar … and the kids love them and the schools love them,” Israel said. “We try to do something like that each year.”