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Procyon Wildlife’s inaugural gala raises a whopping $45,000

December 15, 2023   ·   0 Comments

Procyon Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre held its inaugural fundraising Gala at the Best Western Plus in Orangeville on Dec. 1.

The results have now been tallied and Procyon is thrilled to have raised $45,000. All of this money will be used toward the rescue, rehabilitation and release of wild animals back to their natural environment.

Wildlife centres such as Procyon Wildlife do not receive government funding so fundraising events such as the gala are crucial for the centre to continue operating.

Gala attendees were treated to a cocktail hour, while they perused silent and live auction tables. Hors d’oeuvres and the dinner were catered by Gourmandissimo. Our emcee Carlo Coppola guided us throughout the evening. 

Debra Spilar, custodian and director for Procyon Wildlife, spoke about the organization’s mission to continue rescuing wildlife in need and how the centre has grown from caring for 50 animals per year to over 2,000. 

Renowned wildlife artist Michael Pape was also in attendance and he spoke about his experiences as a wildlife artist. He also had a wide selection of his beautiful paintings on display and will be donating a portion of the proceeds of any paintings sold at the gala to Procyon. 

After the lively live auction, conducted by auctioneer Dave Fulton, Mars Giammarco and his band Echo entertained gala attendees. Throughout the event, photographers William Sierra and Jennifer Howard were on hand to document the evening.

“Our thanks go out to our corporate sponsors Flutter-PokerStars who sponsored the music, Mr. Neil Mathieson, CPA who sponsored the wine at our tables, Flato Developments, Heartlake Insurance, Intact Insurance, Travelers Insurance, Trillium Ford, GFL, Paula Fleck and Anna Simone,” said Procyon Wildlife in a press release. “We are grateful to all the local businesses and private individuals who provided us with so many beautiful, silent and live auctions, and monetary donations. A special thank you goes out to all the Procyon Wildlife volunteers that worked so diligently planning the gala and during the evening of the gala. This community of fine individuals made this evening a success!”

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