Habitat for Humanity Niagara held its second annual Home for Dinner community fundraising initiative that increased business for local restaurants and raised more than $21,000 in funds for its home building program. For every $25 takeout order locals placed with a selection of 24 participating restaurants during the month of May, Habitat Niagara received a donation from its sponsoring partners.

Pandemic restrictions prompted the creation of this initiative to give back to the community in which they serve.

“Home for Dinner is about connecting with our community and supporting our local restaurants who were hit hardest during the pandemic,” explains Lorraine Snihur, Chief Development Officer at Habitat Niagara. “It’s a grass-roots fundraiser that was created out of the passion to be a good neighbour and give back.”

During May last year, restaurants couldn’t have diners inside due to pandemic restrictions and over 15,000 takeout meals were placed during the Home for Dinner initiative. This year restaurants were open for in-person dining and although the numbers decreased, locals ordered 6,476 takeout meals (valued over $25) generating $161,900 of revenue for local restaurants.

Although the participating restaurants didn’t have to fundraise, some went above and beyond through promoting food specials and raising funds for Habitat Niagara to build affordable homes.

This was the first year that Hambrgr, in St. Catharines, participated in Home for Dinner and for every ‘Chef Smash’ burger they sold, $1 went toward Habitat Niagara, raising $500 for the charity.

“Supporting the communities we serve has always been an integral part of our business here at Hambrgr and Local Restaurant Group; as a whole,” said Patricia Ferreira, Brand Manager of Local Restaurant Group. “We saw the Home for Dinner campaign as a great way to encourage diners to eat at local restaurants while supporting Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build homes for families in the Niagara Region. Everyone should have a place to call home and go #HomeForDinner.”

Home for Dinner’s sponsoring partners also understood the community connection and the need to support each other.

“We really couldn’t have organized this initiative without the support of our generous sponsoring partners who provided gift-in-kind donations and committed to sponsoring a number of takeout orders,” said Lorraine.

“Our mission statement at 91.7 GIANT FM and COUNTRY 89 is ‘connecting people and communities to enhance Niagara life’,” explains Mike Haberer, General Manager of Wellport Broadcasting. “Habitat for Humanity’s Home for Dinner campaign is something we were proud to bring to our listeners.”

Meridian Credit Union once again sponsored the event and engaged all their branches on the initiative.

“Meridian was pleased to partner with Habitat to repeat and grow the Home for Dinner campaign in 2022,” said Aeron Maxwell, Assistant Manager at the Portage and Morrison branch, Niagara Falls. “Through the expansion of restaurants to include broader geographic reach and cuisine choices, we were able to amplify the campaign and advance the great work Habitat for Humanity does across Niagara. Employees at Niagara’s 17 branch locations kicked off the campaign through the celebration of Cinco de Mayo on May 5th with many restaurants in the campaign supported. We value this promotion as it is people helping people and building on the practice of #SupportLocal.”

Special thanks to the community who supported Home for Dinner and ordered takeout from its participating restaurants.

With a lot of help from Habitat’s sponsoring partners, thanks to: 91.7 GIANT FM, Allstate, Armstrong Strategy Group, Burnt Ship Bay Wines, Chimp Agency, COUNTRY 89, Dine Niagara, LandPro Planning Solutions, Meridian, Newport Landscaping, Cathy Hanna (Norwex Independent Consultant), Pizza Jerry’s, R.O. Beam Construction, RBC, The Mortgage Group, Valley Town Pest Control, Vaultra Storage and When in Niagara.