Katrina Boguski
Freelance
When fire struck the home of Luke and Olivia Bird on Jan. 24, it was easy to say, “They lost everything.” However, that statement isn’t entirely true. What the Birds did not lose was the support of their community. That support was clearly seen when staff at Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan (BLR) Township rallied together to help out Luke who is one of their co-workers. With the aid of staff, and participation from the broader community, a fundraiser was held on Feb. 10 to help the Birds recover from their loss.
At the regular meeting of BLR council on Feb. 7, staff presented council with some facts about the situation. A report included in the agenda package said, “On January 24th, 2024, a valuable employee of the Township, Luke Bird, lost his house to a fire. Staff at BLR are hosting a public skate by donation, selling pizza and coffee that was donated and holding an onsite raffle to help Luke and his family get back on their feet. Staff has already reached out to multiple businesses with great success and multiple individual donations have been received at the office already.”
Council supported the event by passing a resolution that donated the ice time and two skate sharpenings for raffle prizes as well as all proceeds from the canteen sales on the night of Feb. 10.
Coun. Sheldon Keller, who chaired the meeting, said, “I think it is very tragic that Luke and his family lost their house and I think anything that staff and council can do to support them in this time of need is very welcome”
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