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Grocery managers across the Island pull together for Queer youth

With Victoria Pride Parade and Festival cancelled, Save-On-Foods staff found a way to raise funds
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Christopher Mauro, right, assistant manager of the Sidney Save-On-Foods, and Nick Luney, youth initiatives director for the Victoria Pride Society, celebrate the success of a pandemic fundraiser for the local Pride Society. (Courtesy Save-On Foods)

Christopher Mauro and Brooke Nelson, assistant managers at Save-On-Foods stores in Greater Victoria, didn’t let a pandemic interfere with plans to initiate an inaugural entry into the Victoria Pride Parade and Festival this summer.

With the cancellation of all large group gatherings due to COVID-19 the annual pride festival and parade was cancelled, upending original plans.

Discussion with the Victoria Pride Society revealed the loss of funding from the parade and festival fees would stretch the organization and its support systems, said Mauro, assistant manager at the Sidney location. To help, they worked with store teams across Vancouver Island in a fundraising initiative.

“We decided to change our direction to help support the VPS Youth Initiative in the wake of the COVID cancellations,” said Mauro, one of the many who helped. “In the end we donated $3,000 to the Victoria Pride Society Youth Initiative to support, maintain and to enhance the voices of queer youth in the area.”

READ ALSO: Save-On-Foods customers raise nearly $50,000 for Victoria hospitals


 

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