From left to right: chairperson of the CTC’s Bike-A-Thon Plus Peter Asquini, CTC president Don Fairweather, local BMO branch manager Cindy Peach, and BMO regional vice president Frederica Jones, with a $10,000 donation from BMO to the CTC on Thursday December 16, 2021 in Cornwall, Ont. Shawna O’Neill/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network PHOTO BY SHAWNA O’NEILL /Shawna O’Neill/Standard-Freeholder

The community has once again shown their generosity, donating to the Children’s Treatment Centre (CTC).

Longtime supporters of the CTC, the Bank of Montreal (BMO), presented CTC president Don Fairweather and Bike-A-Thon Plus chairperson Peter Asquini with a donation of $10,000 on Thursday.

“We are very proud to be supporters of the CTC, for at least the last 14 years,” said local BMO branch manager Cindy Peach. “We are proud to be a part of the community in that (philanthropic) way. Staff-wise, we have various supporters of what is being done (at the CTC), and we hope to continue to contribute for years to come.”

“It’s what we do. We are community-first, and with the grassroots companies in the communities we serve, we want to do everything we can to support them,” said BMO regional vice president Frederica Jones, who travelled to Cornwall from Quebec to assist in giving the official donation.

The CTC, which is solely relies on community donations to operate, has not been able to host most of the organization’s regular fundraising events throughout the pandemic, including the popular Bike-A-Thon-Plus.

“It’s nice to see people getting involved,” said Asquini. “We are hoping for a spring 2022 (Bike-A-Thon-Plus event), we will see. The new variants (of COVID-19) don’t seem to be cooperating very well, so time will tell right now, but it’s nice to know that the folks here at BMO will be around to support us.”

Previously, Asquini worked as the BMO area manager when the company first started contributing to the CTC. He said that his employees were amazed by the incredible work being carried out by the centre, from as far west as Iroquois and as far north as Hawkesbury.

“We are absolutely thrilled that the BMO has for, a long period of time, been a steadfast supporter of the centre,” said Fairweather. “They donate, from a corporate level, $10,000 to the centre, and have done so now for some number of years. In addition, their staff have been tremendous at supporting events like the Bike-A-Thon-Plus, coming out and participating, and bringing pledges.”

“Donations and support from the BMO go a long way to ensuring the survival and sustainability of the centre, in particular in these COVID-19 times.”

The CTC continues to receive about 150 referrals every year and was only closed for six weeks since the start of the pandemic.

To learn more about the CTC and the programs they offer to children and adolescents who are victims of sexual or physical violence, visit www.childrenstreatmentcentre.ca