Bruce Power and its employees have contributed almost $20,000 to a local initiative to relocate a family of six from the war-torn country of Syria to Saugeen Shores.

“Thanks to the generosity of our employees and the community at large, the Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund now has the funds in place to bring a family to our community in the next few months,” said Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power’s President and CEO.

Bruce Power employees donated $9,500 during a gate collection held last week in support of the Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund which was launched by a group of residents from Port Elgin and Southampton in response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

The gate collection amount was matched by Bruce Power allowing the Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund to exceed its goal of $20,000 by almost $10,000. The extra funds will go towards bringing a second family to the community.

The ongoing conflict in Syria has triggered a humanitarian crisis with more than 12 million people inside Syria needing urgent help, including 7.6 million who are internally displaced, according the United Nations. Canadian officials are currently interviewing Syrian families at a UN refugee camp in Lebanon and processing and selecting them to move to Canada once the funds are in place to support them in a host community.