Wheatley Relief Fund surpasses $201,500 with teen's donation

By Mark Ribble

WHEATLEY — As the Wheatley Disaster Relief Fund continues to grow, committee members are beginning to reach out to families who have applied for funds after being displaced or affected by the August 26 explosion.

Meanwhile, a young lady from Chatham has been raising funds in her own way and recently donated those funds to the Wheatley Disaster Relief Fund.

Jerzie Rylett, 15, has been singing outside of the LCBO in Chatham for a few months and has recently dedicated her songs to Wheatley.

All decked out in the ‘Jam Out To Help Out’ t-shirt, Jerzie met with the committee members on Monday, September 27 at the Two Creeks amphitheatre.

She performed a great rendition of Hallelujah and donated $305.40 to the Disaster Relief Fund.

Lauren Anderson, from the committee, was blown away by the young lady’s dedication to helping others.

“This is awesome,” she said. “You brought tears to my eyes.”

Jerzie is no stranger to raising funds for those in need. She has also performed to help food banks, The Rock Mission, the C-K Miracle and other private donations.

With the cooperation of the LCBO store in Chatham, Jerzie has been able to help out in many ways by using her gift of song.

Her performances during the pandemic outside of long-term care homes and hospitals have been inspirational and she does a lot of singing outside well into the late fall and winter months.

The $305.40 donated by Jerzie will help top up an already building Disaster Relief Fund, according to Lauren Anderson.

Jerzie Rylett, left, holds the envelope of cash she earned while singing in front of the LCBO in Chatham. Accepting her donation is Lauren Anderson, with committee members Kimberly Grant, Hilary Hyatt and Jill Riediger. In front are Andie and Avery Anderson.

SUN photo

A recent donation by Leamington resident Keith Pickard of $100,000 took the fund to $176,000 and now an additional $25,500 joins Jerzie’s amount to bring the total up over $200,000.

Anderson credits the municipality for working with them to help allocate the funds in the proper direction.

“We’ve formed a great partnership with Chatham-Kent,” she said. “We’ve been meeting regularly with them.”

So far, 14 families have been helped by the fund and Anderson expects a lot more in the coming weeks.

The committee is on Zoom three days a week, meeting with C-K social services and family services representatives as they process the applications from families in need.

Anderson says the Leamington Post Office has helped them distribute the forms so they make sure everyone who needs help gets it.

The committee has been busy behind the scenes as the provincial and municipal crews work at the blast site, hoping to get to a resolution.

Premier Doug Ford’s visit last week boosted the spirits of residents and the committee members too.

“We were excited,” said committee member Kimberly Grant. “I was very impressed with his discussion with us.”

Grant said that the Premier promised them 15 minutes and then spent 45 minutes with them.

“He looked us straight in the eye and never interrupted us,” she said.

Ford even gave his cell number to Lauren Anderson and said to call him anytime.

“He may regret that,” laughed Anderson.

If you’d like to make a monetary donation to the Wheatley Disaster Relief Fund, there are a few options.

You can write a cheque to the Wheatley BIA (with Disaster Relief noted in the memo section) and mail it to Kimberly Grant, Disaster Relief Fund, 763 Concession 3, RR1 Wheatley, N0P 2P0.

You can also make a donation to their GoFundMe page, which is located at gofundme.com. Search for Wheatley Disaster Relief Fund and you’ll be able to make a donation there.

They have also recently set up an e-transfer for those who do e-transfer. The email to send your donation to is wheatleystrong300@gmail.com.