Many local charities are experiencing a drop in donations as the community continues to grapple with the ongoing trade war.
The Matthew House Refugee Welcome Centre, the Downtown Mission, the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative, Feeding Windsor-Essex, Safe Families, Windsor Life Centre and the Windsor Lifeline Outreach are alerting the community that donations are down and what they are receiving is not stretching as far as it once did.
"Everyone's budgets are tighter with the tariffs and prices going up but this has been especially hard for charities," said Heidi Hotz Nourse, Resource Development Coordinator at Matthew House. "A lot of the people that support us are other charitable groups who have also noticed that their charity donations are down."
The charities are seeking monetary donations, gently used items, and volunteers to support their missions.
"We’re feeling the ripple effects of the trade war every day. As manufacturing jobs fluctuate and inflation rises due to tariffs, more people are slipping through the cracks, while donations continue to shrink. We're stretching every dollar to feed our friends facing food insecurity," said Rodger Fordham, Executive Director, Feeding Windsor-Essex.
The Matthew House has had to reduce staff and service hours because of the dip in donations.