Members of the OPP Chorus perform in the video above.
CHESTERVILLE — Thanks to a return visit to Chesterville by the OPP Chorus — and a matching contribution from Dundas Power Line Ltd. — the Chesterville Rotary Club was able to forward $3,600 to tornado relief efforts in Ottawa earlier this autumn.
Several tornadoes touched down in the city Sept. 21 — as well as the other side of the Ottawa River — destroying homes and causing millions in property damage. The natural disaster happened to occur just a week before the famous Choir’s scheduled performance in Chesterville on behalf of local Rotarians during their Club’s 80th anniversary this year. The OPP-affiliated group last took the stage at Christ Church United during Chesterville Rotary’s 75th anniversary year, and Club members of the organization had no trouble deciding where the $1,800 raised by the Sept. 28 show should go this time around. The Club also tapped into a pledge by local businessman Frank Heerkens to double that amount; the Dundas Power Line owner had earlier promised the Club up to $8,000 in matching funds from his firm during 2018, to make up for the end of a popular dollar-for-dollar program previously offered by Scotiabank.
The combination of funds meant that Club treasurer Stan Vanden Bosch mailed off a $3,600 cheque to the Ottawa Rotary Relief Committee for efforts related to assisting people left homeless by the twisters in the Nation’s Capital.