THUNDER BAY – The votes are in and winners of The Keg Steakhouse & Bar’s Thanks A Million campaign have been decided by community members across North America. The Keg has awarded $25,000 to 40 community-based projects for a total of $1 million. One of the projects selected is the Community Kitchen in Thunder Bay.
A Kitchen for our Community Project will provide participants with an environment where they can cook healthy nutritious meals to take home and share with their families. Building on the idea that food has power; the power to inspire us, the power to nurture our bodies and build health and the power to bring people in communities and families together. This project will work toward building a community with increased access to nutritious foods, increased knowledge of what makes a nutritious meal, increased food preparation skills, kitchen related skills (reading recipes, knife skills etc) and increased food safety knowledge.
The Keg’s Thanks A Million campaign – created in honour of its 40th Anniversary – received more than 1,300 submissions for funding. Members of the public then voted to decide which projects should receive grants. Over 200,000 votes were received from people helping their favourite community-based project receive one of The Keg’s $25,000 grants.
“On behalf of the entire Keg family, I’d like to extend heartfelt congratulations to all the winning submissions and to everyone who participated in Thanks A Million,” said David Aisenstat, President & CEO, The Keg Steakhouse & Bar. “This initiative was our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the communities who have contributed so greatly to our success over the years. I have no doubt the 40 grants will help strengthen these communities, empower people to get involved and create a positive impact on the lives of others.”
The winning projects come in all shapes and sizes – from school initiatives and playgrounds to food banks and shelters. On June 29th the recipients celebrated their $25,000 award at events held at their local Keg Steakhouse & Bar, surrounded by friends, family, project supporters and Keg employees.
“The Keg has a long history of giving back to the communities it serves,” said Carolyn Torhjelm, Executive Director of The Keg Spirit Foundation. “Our tradition of giving has been engrained in The Keg’s culture from the very beginning and it started at a grassroots level, with employee involvement in community events and projects, just like these ones.”
In 2001, The Keg Spirit Foundation was created to coordinate and focus The Keg’s charitable efforts. The Thanks A Million campaign continues this tradition of giving.
