A day of mixed emotions at the old Dryden Ukrainian Hall as donations were made to multiple local groups.
Members of the Dryden Ukrainian Literary Society donated $30,200 to the DREAM Committee, $45,300 to the Dryden Extended Care Organization and $75,500 for the Dryden Regional Health Foundation.
That means the group made a total donation of $151,000 to local causes. The money comes from the sale of the Ukrainian Hall as well as extra leftover funds from the Dryden Ukrainian Literary Society.
President Norman Balla says it is an emotional day as he has a lot of fond memories in the building and he knows many other residents in Dryden do as well.
The Ukrainian Hall opened their doors on November 13th in 1938 and operated for over 80 years at their 194 Florence Street Location.
Balla says the hall was doing well enough to keep running financially, but the volunteers are getting older and simply don’t have the energy to continue its operation.
He also said it was important that all the money they gave would go to local causes as they want to give back to the community that gave them so much.
Dryden Mayor Greg Wilson also recognized the group on behalf of the City of Dryden for all of the work and community involvement the group has done over the years.
The Hall was purchased by Unifor Local 324.