Wheatley comes together as a community

By Mark Ribble

WHEATLEY — The explosion that shook Wheatley on Thursday, August 26 will long be remembered for the way it changed the landscape of the village’s downtown.

It will also be remembered for the way it brought people together for one common cause — to help others.

From GoFundMe pages, to food donations, to people donating their land for camping, the community — and surrounding communities — have shown that people do care about others.

In a world where a virus has divided many households, an explosion has brought many of them back together.

The Fogz Logistics food truck was an idea spawned by Len Janzen and Mike Renwick, who both put their hearts and souls into getting that truck to Talbot Trail Golf course to allow residents to replenish their cupboards in the days after the blast.

That truck has now been moved to the former ProActive Fitness building at 108 Talbot Street East, across from Bowman Feeds.

It’s now under the supervision of the Wheatley Area Food Bank. They are usually housed in the Baptist Church, but have switched locations to the fitness building to accommodate anyone in need.

You can drop in there on Tuesdays from 9am to 1 pm, or Saturdays from 9 am to 3 pm.

Large donations have been made to the food bank and organizer Susan Fulmer says they are ready to help in any way they can. If you need food and cannot make it when they are open, they will work with you after hours by calling 519-300- 4101.

The GoFundMe page set up by Lauren Anderson has surpassed its goal of $20,000 and currently sits at $35,800 (as of Friday, Sept. 3).

The GoFundMe page will remain up and running for now, with the new Wheatley Disaster Recovery Fund also taking cash donations. Cheques can be made payable to Wheatley BIA with a memo that it is for the Wheatley Disaster Recovery Fund.

The shelves at the new Wheatley Area Food Bank location were being stocked on the weekend as donations poured in.

Photo submitted

Chatham-Kent Councillor Mark Authier and his wife Lynn own a sign business and they printed up 300 ‘Wheatley Strong’ signs to sell, with proceeds going to the recovery fund. People have come forward with t-shirts and decals, with proceeds also going to the fund.

A fish fry fundraiser is planned for Sunday, September 12 at Two Creeks as well.

For Kimberley Grant of the Wheatley BIA, the response has been overwhelming.

“It’s just fabulous how people who grew up here and now live elsewhere have reached out to make donations,” she said. “We had a lady whose siblings are scattered across the country, making a donation on behalf of them.”

Grant credits many local businesses for stepping up and helping out, from Green Heart Catering to Colasanti’s to local greenhouse operations.

“Somebody shows up every day to make sure our first responders are fed,” she said. “Even my 86-year-old mother did a lot of baking for those working down here.”

Lauren Anderson is also ecstatic about the response from the greater community.

“The outpouring of support from our community and surrounding communities has been so heart-warming,” she said. “Some said the heart of a community comes out when disaster strikes and I don’t think there’s any doubt about the strength, beauty and all-around caring nature that the citizens of Wheatley possess.”

Anderson says there are a great number of team members from Chatham-Kent who are working to make sure all the needs of the community are met and also plan for the future.

“My husband Curtis and I always knew we wanted to raised our family in Wheatley and this is just another reason why,” she said.

Lauren Anderson can be reached at 519-818- 3579 and Kimberley Grant can be reached at 519-322-9746 if you’d like to donate to the Relief Fund.

In addition to the local efforts, Greg and Kelly Hetherington held an online fundraiser on Sunday, raising $10,000 toward the Relief Fund.