Making a Difference for the NESPCA One Propane Fill at a Time

At Prairie North Co-op, we love when our team members come up with great ideas, especially when those ideas are about raising funds for local charities! Keith Mamer, our gas bar division manager, had
seen a similar fundraising event in Alberta and took the initiative up with Federated Co-op Limited (FCL) to make things happen. After meeting with Jason White at FCL Propane, they decided that FCL would donate the propane and that a percentage of the money raised from propane sales in one day would be donated to the North East SPCA . . . and Propane for Pets became a reality.

The first Propane for Pets campaign was held in 2019, where 50% of all propane sales from our gas bars, plus proceeds from a BBQ at each of our gas bar locations, resulted in $5,422.25 being raised. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Propane for Pets campaign had to be cancelled but in 2021 we were back (without the BBQs). In 2022 the BBQs were back and we dropped the percentage of sales from the fundraiser and went to a donation based model. A $15 donation filled a 20lb propane tank and a $25 donation filled a 30lb tank.

To date $21,980 has been raised in this annual fundraiser.

This year, Propane for Pets will be held at gas bar locations throughout Prairie North Co-op – Archerwill, Kelvington, Melfort,
Naicam, Spalding and St. Brieux – on Thursday, May 15, 2025. In this all-day event, fill a 20 lb propane tank for a $15 donation, and a 30 lb tank for a $25 donation. The BBQs will be fired up from 11 am to 1:30 pm. Get a burger and drink for $5. All proceeds to the North East SPCA.

Prairie North Co-op’s Fuel Up To Fill Plates held in November/December each year is another homegrown fundraiser in
which local food banks benefit.